Well here's some good news: our minimum wage is safe! At the stroke of 5:00pm today, the three bills to roll back the wage officially "died" in the State Legislature.
Read MoreA lot can change in four years
Four years ago, in 2012, with minimum wage at $9.04/hour, anti-worker lobby groups pushed to carve out sub-minimum wages, tip penalties, and other exceptions. Four years later, $13.50 is on the way. A lot can happen in four years.
Read MoreSo...
Three days later, there's still a lot to process. When we look at the results here in Washington, we keep thinking about Initiative 1433. Our ballot measure to raise the minimum wage won majority support in 16 Washington counties (and 49% of the vote in two more counties) many of them far outside the Seattle metropolitan area. By contrast, Hillary Clinton only got a majority of the vote in 9 counties.
Read MoreHuh, they never go on vacation with us
National anti-worker lobby groups like the National Restaurant Association and the Koch Brothers had private getaways to discuss minimum wage ballot measures — including Washington’s Initiative 1433.
Read MoreWhere do they find these people? We found out.
Turn out that the face of the campaign against the minimum wage is a stock photo called "Two friends collecting money to paying in a restaurant.” Hot tip: they might be able to more easily afford the bill if they got a raise.
Read MoreIs there a precedent for trickle-downers being quite *this* wrong about the minimum wage?
Some opponents of Initiative 1433 to raise the minimum wage — including several newspaper editorial boards — have been trying to make the claim that lifting the minimum wage from $9.47/hour this year to $13.50 over the next four years is an “unprecedented” increase. It seems to be in some kind of anti-1433 opposition talking point. (They must think it makes them sound smart. Or maybe they're just kinda desperate?)
Because here's the reality: there is plenty of precedent for the minimum wage increase in I-1433. In fact, every single recent minimum wage increase at the state and federal levels back to 1977 raised wages by at least as much per year as I-1433 would. (And that’s not even mentioning Seattle and SeaTac.)
Some opponents of Initiative 1433 have been trying to make the claim that lifting the minimum wage from $9.47/hour this year to $13.50 over the next four years is an “unprecedented” increase. In fact, every single recent minimum wage increase at the state and federal levels back to 1977 raised wages by at least as much per year as I-1433 would.
Read MoreAt least they're getting creative with their sky-is-falling stories?
Big business lobbyists from Idaho say they're worried about what will happen if Washington voters pass Initiative 1433 to raise the minimum wage — because they're going to have raise wages in Idaho too in order to keep up and hire people. That's bad because....?
Read MoreThink $13.50/hour is “too much”? Well, here’s what a $9.53/hour minimum wage buys you in Clark County
There are a total of 7 housing options currently available in Clark County, WA that a full-time worker can afford on minimum wage. (There are also 6 RV spaces and a self-storage unit.) So why on earth does the Columbian newspaper in Vancouver, WA think that keeping the minimum wage at $9.53/hour is enough?
Read MoreThis Tri-Cities restaurant owner says the sky will fall if the minimum wage goes to $13.50/hour — after saying the same thing about increases to $8.67, $9.04, $9.32, and $12
For at least the sixth time in the past six years, the owners of one Kennewick restaurant have predicted that the sky will fall if the minimum wage increases to $8.67, $9.04, $9.32, $12, $13.50, and more… and yet the sky has remained aloft. In fact, jobs and business continue to grow in the Washington restaurant industry.
Read More6 cents or $1.53 — that's quite a choice
The state has run its calculations and on January 1st, the state's minimum wage will rise 6 whole cents to $9.53/hour — which isn't enough to support yourself anywhere in our state. But if voters pass Initiative 1433, Washington workers will see a minimum wage of $11.00/hour on January 1, 2017, on the way to $13.50 over four years. It's quite a choice.
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