SEATTLE (AP) - A public hearing on Seattle’s minimum wage drew a crowd estimated at about 700 people Wednesday night, many of them red-shirted advocates of a move to increase the city’s minimum to $15 an hour.
The Seattle Times reports (https://is.gd/pOBNZ3 ) the joint hearing before Mayor Ed Murray’s Income Inequality Advisory Committee and the Seattle City Council was an initial opportunity for the public to comment.
Jason Harvey described himself as a Navy veteran and eight-year fast-food restaurant employee who gets food stamps and goes to food banks to make ends meet.
Rob Wilson told the hearing he owns a small business in Seattle. He said he’d like to see a minimum-wage increase that took into account tips and employee benefits.
The mayor’s Income Inequality Committee is expected to offer the City Council a proposal by April 30.
The Times says that so far, the committee hasn’t addressed the issues of how much to increase pay, how quickly and whether there will be exemptions.
Washington state’s minimum wage is $9.32 an hour.
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