Olympia workers marching to City Hall Thursday to launch campaign for citywide $15 minimum wage

Local low-wage workers and community supporters to call for action on $15 minimum wage in city of Olympia

The workers’ movement for a $15 minimum wage continues to spread: on Thursday, March 12, 2015, low-wage workers from Olympia will lead a rally and march to City Hall, calling on their local government to pass a citywide $15 minimum wage law and advance workers rights in the city of Olympia.

Who: Low-wage workers from Olympia, joined by local community supporters

What: Gather at Sylvester Park with signs and banners reading “Olympia: it’s the wages” and “$15 for Olympia”, then march to Olympia City Hall for a rally to call for a $15/hour citywide minimum wage

WhenThursday, March 12, 2015. Workers and supporters will begin to gather at 1:45 pm, and be on the march to City Hall by 2:00 pm.

Where: March leaves from Sylvester Park (615 Washington St SE, Olympia, WA 98501) and arrives at Olympia City Hall (601 4th Ave E, Olympia, WA 98501)

Follow along online at #oly15.

$15 in SeaTac and Seattle was just the beginning. In December, workers in Olympia went on strike to win $15 from their employers, and this Thursday, workers in Olympia are launching a citywide effort to pass a $15 minimum wage law and make other advances for Olympia workers.

Supporters of the Olympia $15 campaign launching Thursday include Working Washington, SEIU 775NW, SEIU 1199NW, WFSE/AFSCME Local 443, and UFCW 21.

More information:

  • 33% of Olympia’s workers are paid less than $15/hour, according to an analysis of Census data.
  • Eight of the ten fastest-growing jobs in our economy pay poverty wages of less than $15/hour — jobs like food service, retail, and homecare.
  • Half of the population of Olympia are renters, and median rent in Olympia is $904/month. It takes a full-time paying $17.38/hour to afford that rent level at standard affordability calculations.

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Contact: Sage Wilson, Working Washington: sage@workingwa.org