Seattle City Council Approves $15 Minimum Wage, Highest in Country

McDonald’s worker Brittany Phelps cried when the new rules passed: “I’m really happy. This means a lot.”

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka hailed the vote as a milestone:

Today’s vote in Seattle will go down in history as a milestone in the struggle to raise wages and ensure fair pay for all workers. It is proof that when working people organize and make their voices heard, we all benefit.

While Republicans in Congress fail to act, Seattle, along with other cities and states around the country, is ensuring that workers receive a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work. We have already seen progress in states from Hawaii to Minnesota, and we will continue to fight to provide every worker with a good living wage and an opportunity to achieve the American Dream.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray (D) praised the council’s action: “Today we have taken action that will serve as a model for the rest of the nation to follow.” Socialist council member Kshama Sawant went further: “We did this. Workers did this. Today’s first victory for 15 will inspire people all over the nation.”

David Freiboth, executive secretary of the M.L. King County Labor Council, said the measure would:

not only will lift many, many workers out of poverty, it tells the business establishment in no uncertain terms that the game is changing, that working people are tired of watching the 1% get richer while the rest of us get poorer.

Numerous local businesses participated in crafting the plan and some, like Molly Moon Neitzel, owner of Molly Moon’s ice cream shop, didn’t wait for the ordinance to pass before increasing salaries. “A hundred thousand people next year will have more money in their pockets. They’ll have more money to buy ice cream.” She started paying her employees $15 an hour last fall. “They’re so appreciative of the raise. Retention is great, and their quality of life has increased.”

Seattle is the latest in a growing trend of cities or states raising wages, while Republicans in Congress stall any attempts to raise the minimum wage.

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This has been reposted from the AFL-CIO.

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