Apparently, the legal action to block Seattle's $15 minimum wage from going into full effect is so unpopular and embarrassing that even extreme right-wing group ALEC is now trying to pretend they had nothing to do with it:
ALEC, the corporate lobbying group notorious for ultra-right-wing legislation attacking everything from gun control to the right to vote, wants to deny their involvement with this recent lawsuit. But leaks from ALEC's most recent closed-door meeting, reported in the Guardian, prove something different:
“At the meeting, speakers described bringing lawsuits to try and stop cities from introducing pay increases. Dean Heyl, a lobbyist with the International Franchise Association—which represents 1,400 franchises, including some of America’s biggest such as Dunkin’ Donuts and Subway—said his organization had filed a legal challenge to Seattle’s hike.
Brian Crawford, a senior executive at the American Hotel and Lodging Association, told participants that his group was preparing litigation in Los Angeles and other cities to block wage increases. ‘Hopefully there’s no press in here,’ he said.
Crawford also urged conservatives to launch populist campaigns against wage increases by adopting the mantra that higher pay hurts ordinary Americans. It was crucial, he said at the meeting, to have ‘the right face, and that’s one of the things we’re focusing on… Not the Hyatts, not the Hiltons, not the Marriotts, but the small business people, telling their story about the American Dream—the independently owned Holiday Inn, owned by an Asian-American who came to this country, put all their life-savings into it, and now they’re going to lose this business because they can’t afford a $15 wage.’”
At that meeting, ALEC members discussed multiple strategies to block workers from getting the raises they fought for, including these lawsuits. In public, they claim "no involvement." So wait, if even ALEC feels tainted by a connection to the franchise lobby's lawsuit, is there anyone left who publicly supports something that unpopular?
Oh, right... The Seattle Times editorial board. Bold move, Seattle Times.