The Raise the Wage Act was introduced this week in Congress, a proposal that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25/hr and hasn’t been raised since 2009, so this move is long overdue for millions of workers across the country who’ve seen low wages and skyrocketing income inequality for years and who are deep in financial crisis as this pandemic hits low-income workers especially hard. And as part of a broader COVID relief effort, a $15 federal minimum wage is an important way to ensure greater economic security for millions of workers across the country, protect public health during this crisis, and support a just recovery going forward.
Cue the Chicken Little predictions from business lobbyists, who are already trotting out their same-old arguments against being required to pay workers more money for the first time in over a decade. But workers in Seattle and SeaTac know from experience that the sky didn’t fall after they won the first $15 laws in the country in 2013 and 2014—and they know it won’t fall in 2021, either.
So as the Chicken Littles across the country start up their squawking and claim that it’s somehow unrealistic for people to be able to afford food, somehow disastrous for the economy for more people to have more money to spend at more businesses, and somehow unpopular to ensure people can meet basic needs during the worst economic crisis in generations, we’re chiming in with a quick reminder about the history of the fight for $15: it’s been done before, it lifts up workers who lift up the rest of the economy, and it’s extremely popular.
Here’s how we won $15:
2013 — Fast Food Strikes sweep the Seattle area
Workers organizing with Working Washington led a massive wave of fast food strikes and mobilizations in Seattle and SeaTac. Thousands of low-wage workers joined the call to “strike poverty” with a $15/hr minimum wage and spoke out about mistreatment on the job after years of low pay and skyrocketing income inequality in the region.
2013 — SeaTac workers win the first $15 law anywhere in the USA
After months of pressure from a powerful campaign led by low-wage workers working in and around SeaTac Airport, voters in SeaTac approved Proposition 1, a ballot measure that guaranteed a $15 minimum wage, sick leave, and other labor standards for thousands of travel and tourism workers.
2014 — Workers keep the pressure on for $15 in Seattle
Throughout 2014, more and more fast food workers in Seattle joined the growing wave of strikes and direct actions demanding improved economic security and working conditions, which intensified pressure on the city’s elected officials to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour. Workers’ leadership gained national media attention and kicked off a conversation about poverty wages all across the country. Even after the $15 victory in SeaTac, many commentators claimed that $15 was a completely unrealistic target and issued increasingly dire warnings about how dangerous it would be for the economy to ensure workers earned enough to buy food and pay rent.
Summer 2014 — Seattle City Council passes first citywide $15 minimum wage law
Almost exactly a year after the first Seattle fast food strikes, the Seattle City Council passed a $15 minimum wage citywide, raising wages for nearly a quarter of the city’s workforce and leading the nation with a new standard for wages.
2016 — WA workers win an increased minimum wage statewide
Building on the momentum from the successful $15 campaigns in SeaTac and Seattle, workers across the state organize an initiative campaign to increase the statewide minimum wage. In November 2016, Washington voters cast their ballots by nearly 60% to pass Initiative 1433, raising the statewide minimum wage to $13.50/hour by January 1, 2020 and providing paid sick and safe time to workers in our state. The minimum wage and paid sick days initiative won a far greater share of the vote than the either candidate for Governor or President.
Initially, the demand for $15 was seen as entirely unrealistic by essentially everyone. From workers going on strike to journalists covering the movement to progressive elected officials commenting on it, almost everyone felt that the number was not to be taken seriously. But then workers organized for and won $15.
Years later, the $15 minimum wage has neither sent the sky crashing down nor kicked off the end-times. Instead, it’s improved economic security for workers and had a positive impact throughout the whole economy here in the Seattle area. When workers have more money in our pockets, the economy is better for it. That’s especially true during times of economic crisis, which is why we’ve been calling on state and federal leaders to prioritize direct cash assistance to support workers throughout this pandemic. And it’s why Congress must act now to approve a $15 minimum wage and raise the wages of nearly 32 million people nationwide.
At a time of deep financial crisis for workers across the country, establishing a $15 federal minimum wage means ensuring millions more workers have the economic security they need to make it through this crisis. It means millions more workers with more money that they can spend at small businesses in their communities. It means a stronger public health response as millions of workers would be less likely to have to choose between staying home when sick or putting food on the table. And it means a faster and more equitable recovery, because it will ease the depth of financial crisis for workers around the country by helping them make ends meet now and into the future.
Getting out of this crisis now also means raising pay for gig workers excluded from $15. Delivery workers on apps like DoorDash, Postmates, and Instacart are not protected by minimum pay standards and often make far below minimum wage after expenses—in fact, our analysis of driver pay data finds that DoorDash pays the average worker an astonishingly low $1.45/hour. That’s why gig workers with the PayUp campaign are leading the call for a minimum pay standard in their industry—it’s time for these companies to PayUp so that all workers earn enough to make ends meet.