Seattle is now home to the highest-paying, minimum-wage positions in the nation — and the socialist member of the City Council that passed the $15 per hour mandate said it couldn’t have happened without the support of hundreds of activists, protesters and area workers.
“We did it. Workers did this,” said Kshama Sawant, a socialist who serves on the Seattle City Council that just voted in the new minimum-wage level, The Associated Press reported.
The vote fulfills a campaign promise made by Mayor Ed Murray, who won his seat in last year’s election in part because of his vow to hike the minimum wage.
The new pay level takes effect on April 1, 2015. Activists who campaigned for the minimum-wage increase are now looking with hope across the nation, hoping to convince other cities and localities to follow Seattle’s suit.
“Fast-food workers have been paving the way for a better future for workers across Seattle — and are sending a strong message to cities across the country,” Crystal Thompson, a Seattle Domino’s worker who went on strike to press for higher pay, said in a press release put out by BerlinRosen, a public relations firm. “When I see $15, I’ll be able to afford my own place in a safe neighborhood where my kids can ride their bikes, and I’ll finally be able to go back to school.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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