BREAKING: Minimum wage repeal referendum will NOT qualify for the ballot

Latest numbers from King County Elections show that Forward Seattle’s referendum to repeal $15 cannot reach the necessary signature threshold and will not qualify for the ballot

King County Elections has now reviewed well over half of the referendum petitions submitted by Forward Seattle, and their fringe effort to repeal the minimum wage law has come up short. So far, 15,004 of Forward Seattle’s 18,928 petition signatures have been reviewed, and only 11,412 have been validated as legitimate signatures from actual voters — a 76% verification rate. At this point, Forward Seattle could not meet the minimum standard of 16,510 valid signatures even if every single one of the 3,924 remaining signatures were verified.

The numbers are clear: Forward Seattle’s minimum wage repeal will not qualify for the ballot. Our phased-in $15 minimum wage law will take effect as passed unanimously by the City Council and signed into law by the Mayor.

“Getting $15 will change my life because I wouldn’t feel like I’m in debt with everybody,” said Terran Lyons, a Seattle McDonald’s worker and a leader with Working Washington. “I could pay my bills on time and give my kids what they need. If my son loses his shoe when he’s playing outside, I won’t have to be worried about how I can buy him a new pair.”

Support for the $15 minimum wage law is so strong in Seattle that once word got out to the public that Forward Seattle was using misleading tactics to try and repeal the minimum wage, signature gathering ground to a halt — even moving in reverse as hundreds of people formally withdrew their signatures from the referendum in the final hours.

Seattle made history by taking on the crisis of income inequality with a $15 minimum wage will help ensure everyone can support themselves, afford the basics, and contribute to the economy. It will raise up Seattle’s 100,000 low-wage workers, providing a $3 billion boost to the economy over the next decade that will generate abundant opportunities for every business that is looking to bring in more customers.

The first raises under Seattle’s minimum wage law take effect April 1, 2015, and the first group of Seattle workers reaches $15/hour on January 1, 2017.

Summary from King County Elections:

Referendum No. 2 (Forward Seattle)
Number of signatures submitted 18,928
Number of signatures reviewed 15,004
Number of signatures verified 11,412

The stock footage names of everyone who appears in the Franchise Association's "franchise fairness" video

At the same time they announced their absurd lawsuit against Seattle's $15 minimum wage, the DC-based International Franchise Association also released a video intended to make their case to the public that Seattle's law "discriminates" against franchise systems. Turns out every single person shown in the video is taken directly from a popular stock footage library. And the names of the video pieces they spliced together say a lot about how the franchise lobby group is trying to make their case.

A list of every single person who appears in the franchise industry's video as they appear in the Pond5 stock video catalog:

1. Young asian woman smiling face
2. Young hispanic man smiling at camera
3. Portrait Of Young Happy Handsome Man In Glasses
4. Friendly Female Barista In A Coffee Shop Serving Customers
5. Young Pretty Woman Working As Florist In Shop And Smiling (Note: they color-adjusted the apron so it's Starbucks green!)
6. Attractive Female Business Owner On The Phone Behind The Counter Of Her Shop
7. African American Woman Close Looks Up Smiles Into Camera
8. Man Looking At Seattle Skyline

More "Sky is Falling" from Big Business about $15 for Seattle

Same group offers same arguments, same concerns, and same predictions they made on impact of sick leave, parking costs, mandatory composting, and more

Late yesterday, Josh McDonald of the Washington Restaurant Association sent an open letter to City Council asking for major changes to the IIAC’s consensus recommendations to reach a $15 minimum wage for Seattle in order to “minimize hardships to the restaurant industry”. The arguments, concerns, and predictions are uncannily similar to what the Restaurant Association has previously said about the impact of sick leave, parking costs, inflation adjustments to the minimum wage, and even mandatory composting. As the examples below demonstrate, these claims — made to many of the very same councilmembers serving today — have been consistently incorrect.

The WRA on Seattle’s landmark paid sick leave law:

September 16, 2011, Puget Sound Business Journal

“Businesses throughout the city tried to work with the proponents and councilmembers to draft language we could make workable in restaurants. Unfortunately, much of what we put on the table was rejected,” Seattle Restaurant Alliance spokesman Josh McDonald said in a statement. “The restaurant industry continues to struggle in this economy; this ordinance could make it even harder on them. We just don’t know.”

May 9, 2011, Seattle Times

Many small-business and restaurant owners oppose the idea, saying the costs could be staggering to operations with small profit margins and a large number of part-time employees.

“One Seattle restaurant owner estimated this would cost him between $65,000 and $175,000 a year. Where is that going to come from? Do I cut wages, raises, paid vacation days? What do I do?” asked Josh McDonald, director of local government affairs for the Washington Restaurant Association.

The result, he said, could be fewer jobs and fewer benefits.

The WRA on Seattle’s landmark mandatory composting law:

April 21, 2010, Seattle Times

Josh McDonald, a state and local government affairs spokesman with the Washington Restaurant Association, said his group is concerned about the costs. “Some (pieces) will be close to even, and some will be 100 times more per piece. When you add it up, that means increased costs.

He acknowledged that Seattle will be one of the few places in the country with such a broad edict. “Because we’re the only place in the country to have these requirements, the packaging is still thought boutique and with it will carry a boutique price tag.”

McDonald said restaurants operate on a 4.5 percent profit margin and 11,000 jobs were lost in the last quarter because of the economy, so there is a concern about the extra costs that will be generated by the new packaging rules. He didn’t know whether the costs would be passed on to the customers or simply absorbed.

The WRA on our state’s inflation-adjusted minimum wage:

October 2, 2008, Puget Sound Business Journal

On Jan. 1, the state’s minimum wage will rise 48 cents to $8.55 an hour — a hike that the Washington Restaurant Association (WRA) said will be “crippling” to the industry.

“The combination of the rising minimum wage and increases in the cost of food, gas and delivery charges are taking a toll on the state’s largest private employer. This is the time for steady leadership and an understanding of the issues crippling our small businesses statewide. Without strong leadership, we could find restaurants closing their doors and employees being laid off,” said Anthony Anton, WRA president and CEO, in a statement.

The WRA on Seattle’s parking meter hours:

March 25, 2012, Seattle Times (opinion column by Josh McDonald of the Seattle Restaurant Alliance)

Last year, when the city of Seattle adopted its extended parking hours, it created a hurdle for customers visiting restaurants, bars and taverns in certain areas of downtown Seattle.

With paid, on-street parking expanded to 8 p.m. from 6 p.m., these customers became saddled with an additional two hours of parking expense. That, in turn, forced them to decide whether to patronize businesses in zones with the extended hours, while potentially diminishing the amount of money they were willing to spend on a night out.

Our wish is that the city not create this type of obstacle between customers and businesses.

When City Councilmember Tim Burgess and others took on the task of shifting our city’s on-street paid-parking program from a revenue-based model to a market-based approach, the Seattle Restaurant Alliance listened cautiously. We understood the value, and tried to help create the best result possible.

[…]

We are also finding that the extended parking hours are having the unintended consequence of creating a public safety issue and a financial burden on our employees. We are one of only a few industries that keep their doors open until 2 a.m. Expecting our employees to simply take the bus at that hour is not always a reasonable option. For those who must drive, the additional two hours of paid parking require them to spend another $6 to $8 per shift. This amount is not trivial to our employees. […]

We look forward to working with the city to achieve a solution that is mutually sensitive to the needs of the restaurant community and the city’s revenue objectives. Let’s avoid placing obstacles between Seattle’s world-class dining scene and the customers who are eager to enjoy it.

More information:

As detailed in our report “The Sky Remains Aloft”, business lobby groups have been making these kinds of mistaken claims & threat about labor standards for more than a century.

By the way 74% of Seattle approves the mayor's initial proposal.

Seattle Fast Food Workers Vote to Strike

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

SEATTLE FAST FOOD WORKERS VOTE TO STRIKE

Thursday action part of global day of protest against low wages

SEATTLE – Fast food workers in Seattle today announced their plans to join a global fast-food strike planned for Thursday, May 15.

The workers voted Tuesday to take the strike action, part of a continuing movement to pressure giant corporations to raise wages and lift workers out of poverty.

Seattle fast-food workers previously have gone on strike on May 30 and Aug. 29, 2013.

Workers plan to rally at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 15 at Westlake Park in Seattle. Strike locations and further details to be announced later.

Media Contact: Sejal Parikh, sejal@workingwa.org

Workers demand $15

Fast food workers in 150 cities across the globe are striking poverty on May 15th. It’s never been done before on such a scale and Seattle fast food workers are standing with them. We are striking back against giant global corporations like McDonald’s who rake in billions in profits and pay their workers poverty wages. It’s not right and ever since the first fast food workers went out on strike a year ago we’ve been pushing back.

Come join us as workers demand their employers pay them $15 at 4 PM on Thursday, May 15, at Westlake Park.

Because of the continued public pressure from low wage workers in the community, the Seattle City Council is about to take a vote on increasing the minimum wage to $15. By keeping up the pressure we are making sure that everyone will be paid enough to meet their basic needs, plan for the future and contribute to the economy.

Come join us at Westlake Park on Thursday and show your support for a strong $15 for Seattle.

This is going to be huge. Workers from all over the globe will be striking and protesting for better pay. We were one of the first cities to get this started and we will lead the way again this Thursday.