Ron Oh is a Holiday Inn Express franchisee in North Seattle. He joined the franchise lobby’s lawsuit to overturn Seattle’s $15 law, arguing that paying higher wages more quickly is unfair to giant national chains.
What they said
- 3/10/2015: "They're taking my business and pigeonholing us into 'They're this giant corporation. Let's scapegoat them,'" he said after the hearing. "Honestly, I'm afraid."
- 5/14/2014: “This whole thing is an experiment that could go wrong, could affect all our businesses, our livelihoods."
- 6/22/2014: Oh told the Seattle Times this one Holiday Inn Express banked a $600,000 profit in 2013, and that his total increased payroll cost through 2017 would be $250,000. He also suggested it would be hard to hire from the same hiring pool.
What happened
Since his lawsuit failed to win an injunction and the first minimum wage increase took effect, business this very Holiday Inn posted for a new job.
The posting does not ask for past experience or any other special qualifications to suggest his hiring pool has changed.