The Seattle City Council Minimum Wage Committee voted unanimously this morning to pass a $15/hr minimum wage ordinance.
With a unanimous 7-0 vote today, the Seattle City Council passed out of committee a modified ordinance raising the city's minimum wage to $15 for employees at some large businesses by 2017, with all other workers being phased in to an inflation adjusted equivalent by 2025. Despite a series of amendments weakening the proposal, and her strident advocacy for $15 Now, Socialist council member Kshama Sawant voted "yes." So much for her being unable to compromise.
Apparently, this was the key vote, and a vote by the full Council of Monday is consider a formality.
The council will officially vote on the ordinance at its Monday meeting, but that is just a formality. A $15 minimum wage has passed in Seattle.
Announcements a month ago that Seattle had passed a $15 mimimum wage were simply incorrect. What had happened was that a Mayoral committee had agreed on ordinance provisions similar to those that just passed but, until today, no action had been taken by the Seattle City Council itself to pass the legislation and make it law.
A few amendments passed.
One provides for a sub-minimum wage for workers under sixteen. Another strengthened enforcement, and yet another replaced inflation adjustment after 2018 with a hard schedule based on a 2.4% inflation rate.
It looks like everyone is going to declare victory and take the fight elsewhere across the country.
This ordinance is far from perfect. But it is historic, as is the fact that it will pass the council by a unanimous vote. Furthermore, it is now possible that the ordinance might not see any serious challenge at ballot box. With Sawant on board, $15 Now will likely drop its initiative and pivot to defending the ordinance while pushing the movement nationwide. Meanwhile, the business-backed One Seattle has reportedly decided not to file an opposing initiative of its own.
Here, in tweets, is how it came down this morning.