A RESOLUTION supporting Washington Initiative Measure 1433 and urging Seattle voters to vote “Yes” on Initiative 1433 on the November 8, 2016 general election ballot.
Agenda item four Resolution 31703 Supporting Washington Initiative Measure 1433 and urging Seattle voters to vote yes on Initiative 1433 on the November eight, 2016 general election ballot. Thank you. So this resolution is calling on support for initiative Measure 1433, which is again urging Seattle voters vote yes on a minimum wage, statewide minimum minimum wage increase to $13.50 an hour by 2020. Again, I'm not saying I'm just describing the context of this resolution is projected to add up to $600, the increased minimum wage of 1433 passes to the pockets of more than 730,000 minimum wage workers in Washington every month is projected to add nearly 2.5 billion to the state's economy every year. And as I described this morning during a council briefing, the current Washington state minimum is $9.47 an hour. And so what I will do is describe what I will do is introduce it for a vote, and then I'll ask if any of my colleagues would like to speak on this resolution, which is supporting initiative Measure 1491. I move to pass actually. You know, the script is a little weird because. Because it's a resolution. I know. I will. I will. I'll just I'm going to deviate from the script just a little bit. I can't not. I move to adopt resolution 31703. Is there a second? Second. Okay. Now let's hear some comments, pro or con, from many of my colleagues relative to this resolution. I got council members who want. Getting my herbal. Tea. I got Councilmember Herbold. Was. I know Castro was like playing cleanup. So Councilmember Herbold. Thank you. So just a few few thoughts here. Addition of 1433 is an incredibly important piece of legislation both for our businesses and our economy, as well as workers. Raising the minimum wage would provide nearly 2.5 billion in earnings. More for workers, over four over. 730,000 low wage workers across the state. We know that since those with low incomes are likely to spend additional resources on necessities like food and clothing, communities and businesses throughout Washington state will benefit as well. Women and people of color are disproportionately represented among those not being paid enough to make ends meet and so that they would especially benefit from this passage of this initiative. Just to give you a little bit of detail on how this would impact an average family for a person working full time, earning $10 an hour and increase to 1350 an hour would mean an extra 600 sorry, $607 per month to spend on rent, food, utilities or save for the future. That's a much needed boost for the over one in five parents in the state trying to raise kids on less than 1350 an hour, or for the young single adult trying to save for a car or school. I urge your support and yes, vote on this resolution. Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Herbold. Customers want. Thank you, Brighton Hove. I am happy to have this opportunity to publicly support Initiative 1433 to raise the minimum wage throughout Washington State. I particularly wanted to thank all the organizers and activists who sacrificed time, money and energy to gather the hundreds of thousands of signatures that we needed to put on the ballot to achieve what our state legislators should have done themselves in the first place. All across the country, really? It has been regular working class people and activists who have forced the political establishment to raise wages through the power of our movements. Here in Seattle, it was the labor movement, Socialist Alternative and 15 now that put the $15 minimum wage on the agenda. And we got it passed six months after we elected a socialist. After 100 years in January of next year, workers of big businesses in Seattle will be going to the full $15 an hour. And as was mentioned before, this is going to disproportionately benefit the very people who are disproportionately negatively impacted by our system, which is women and people of color. In San Francisco, organizers in the labor movement have driven the process to increase the minimum wage. And all across the country, we are seeing minimum wage increase, as many of them to $15 an hour, because working class activists have been emboldened to fight for our rights by the successful example set by our movement. And SeaTac in Seattle and the Washington State movement is no exception. On the other hand, big business and the right wing has fought us tooth and nail. You only have to look at the example of Alaska Airlines, which has tried to disobey legal order after legal order in order to deny its workers and has recently suffered another defeat because the Supreme Court, the state Supreme Court in all the courts has sided with the workers. But we also have to be clear that the political establishment, which itself is tied to big business, has not made this easy for us, for us workers. Just to give you another ongoing example, as we fight for our state, minimum wage should be increased in Minneapolis. 50 now activists gathered tens of thousands of signatures to put $15 an hour on the ballot for November, and their city council refused to do it. 50 now took them to court and won. But then after that, nine out of the ten city council members made up entirely of Democrats appealed that decision to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which is made up of Republicans that Republican Supreme Court made a political decision to kick it off the ballot, reversing the substantial precedent. You can see this example of where corporate Democrats work with Republicans and against the interests of working people. But now the activists in Minneapolis are continuing to build their movement, continuing to try and hold council members accountable for this betrayal and to force them to enact $15 an hour through ordinance. I cite this example to again stress that these victories are only because of the strength of the movement. They are not because the Democrats and Republicans who have dominated politics in our country for a century and a half, suddenly woke up one morning and discovered that workers are not getting paid enough to make ends meet and decided to do something about it. So again, thanks to all the activists, to the labor movement, to making this initiative a reality. Thank you. Jim Acosta from Charlotte, thank you for that. With any of my colleagues like to lend any more words and customer. GONZALES Just really briefly, you know, I think this initiative is really important and not one of the things that we have mentioned is that it not only includes a raise of the minimum wage statewide, but it also includes a pathway to earning paid, sick and safe time in addition to that. And as we know here in Seattle, both of those measures have had a tremendous beneficial impact, not just for our workers, but we've also seen that it's good for business as well, because our economy certainly continues to grow in spite of these pro-worker, working family policies. You know, as somebody who grew up in rural central Washington, in fact, I was just there over the weekend visiting family. Again, I have an opportunity to see, you know, just the suffocation of poverty that exists in other parts of our state and throughout our state, particularly in rural parts of our state. And I think that this is a tremendous opportunity for the city of Seattle to step out and and stand with those members in in communities outside of the city of Seattle who may not have progressive leadership to really send a strong message that these policies are good for working families and that it's important for us to to make sure that we bring along the rest of the residents of Washington State in this effort to achieve social justice and in this effort to break the chains of poverty that keep so many women, particularly women of color and other communities of color, just in the cycles of poverty for generations. So I'm really excited about the fact that we are putting this resolution forward, and I am hopeful that the voters will agree with all of the sentiments that have been said here today and with what the with the work that the organizers are doing and that we will see victory come November. Thank you. Councilman Gonzales, any further comments from any of my colleagues? The rules require that we extend the same amount of time for any members of the public with I to oppose this resolution. So I would call a public hearing for any members who would like to oppose this resolution supporting an increase in the minimum wage. Yes, ma'am. Come forward. Thank you so much. I appreciate being able to speak. And I want to take my hat off to you for for this effort to raise the minimum wage. I just wish that you were older. I think that it's a wonderful thing. The difference between nine, nine, something and 13 something indeed will make a difference for people who are desperately trying to raise their families. But when you look at what it needs to be in this at this time, the minimum wage, you know, if it was the seventies, it would be 20 some dollars. And I know we're not there, but I know that if we're sincere about wanting to close the gap in this country, we've got to be bolder. And we've got to ask our leaders to be bolder about this. And 13 something is nice, but 15 something is nice. I just wish it were better. And maybe it means more. You need to do an income tax. Have an income tax in this state. And if we need to do that, then please, God, do that. Because what we got ain't working. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much, man, for your comments. I will conclude the public comment period. Any further comments from any of my colleagues? Carignan none. All those in favor of adopting the resolution vote i. I. Those opposed vote no. The ayes have it. The motion carries and the resolutions adopted and the chair will sign it. Please read the next agenda. Item five Resolution 3170 for supporting sound transit Proposition one ballot measure and urging Seattle voters to vote yes on Sound Transit Proposition one on the November 8th, 2016, general election ballot.