Down ballot, voters weigh competing minimum wage initiatives

Plus Semi Bird bows out of Republican party leadership and what the WA primary can (and can't) tell us about the national election.

Everett voters have the choice between two initiatives that would raise the hourly minimum wage by nearly $4, with annual adjustments for inflation. Initiatives 24-01 and 24-02 use nearly identical language to raise the minimum wage to $20.24, but the initiatives chart different paths to boosting the minimum wage—and were presented by groups with very different interests. 

Initiative 24-01, introduced by the community-led Everett Deserves a Raise political action committee, would pay workers $20.24 per hour. Any tips and added compensation, such as employment benefits for health care or retirement, would not count toward that total. Small businesses with fewer than 15 employees and less than $2 million in annual revenue are excluded from the minimum wage requirement under 24-01. 

The competing Initiative 24-02 comes from the Washington State Hospitality Association PAC, which represents the interests of 6,000 restaurants, hotels, and other businesses statewide.¹ The Hospitality Association’s version of a minimum wage increase would also require businesses to pay workers $20.24 per hour but would factor in any tips earned or the value of added benefits to get to that number. We’ve seen the Hospitality Association play in fights like this before, like that time they brought a gun to a knife fight up in Bellingham.

Offering a similar but competing initiative is a time-honored, although expensive, way to fight a popular ballot measure you don’t like. The choice often confuses voters and/or divides support of the underlying idea, causing both measures to fail and preserving the status quo.  

Photo by Sam Dan Truong on Unsplash