CM Sawant Response to Mayor’s May 1 Proposal for $15

The fact that the City Council of a major city in the US will discuss in the coming weeks raising the minimum wage to 15 is a testament to how working people can push back against the status quo of poverty, inequality, and injustice. The movement, starting with fast food workers nationwide, and pushed forward by SeaTac and 15 Now, is forcing business and the political establishment to accept raising our wages.
Continue reading →

Watch the organizing director of 15 Now debate the chief financial officer of Ethan Stowell Restaurants on raising the minimum wage, featured on Seattle Channel’s City Inside/Out. Make sure to vote YES on the poll in the homepage to show just how many people support raising the minimum wage in Seattle: http://www.seattlechannel.org/cityinsideout/

On March 19th, 15 Now attended a public hearing with the the Seattle City Council Committee on Minimum Wage and Income Inequality. 15 Now had the opportunity to address the committee and powerfully state the case for raising the minimum wage without redefining the meaning of the word “wage”. As 15 Now and other groups explained, tip penalties and other “total compensation” policies represent a real loss for workers. That’s especially for true women and the gender pay gap, because women are over-represented in industries that will be most affected by tip penalties.

Continue reading →

Here is a great video of some of the speeches from our kickoff rally this past Sunday. Kshama Sawant of Socialist Alternative, Dave Freiboth of the King County Labor Council, Socialist Party member of the Irish Parliament Joe Higgins, and Robby Stern of Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans.

Thank you Todd Boyle for the video!