View Full Version : City of Seattle approves $15/hour minimum wage
mojaveman
06-03-2014, 12:26
The Seattle city council unanimously voted late Monday to increase the city's minimum wage to $15 and hour, making it the nations highest minimum wage. That would make San Francisco's the second highest at $10.74 an hour.
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/hot-stock-minute/seattle-approves--15-hour-minimum-wage--will-other-cities-follow-suit--150210501.html
Snaquebite
06-03-2014, 12:38
I'll bet all those Seattle coffee shops are loving this...:rolleyes:
Great, maybe an exodus of non skilled labor will ensue targeting this new Nirvana.
We could use a few folks off "Access", Food stamps etc.
The Reaper
06-03-2014, 13:45
Now they can unionize and pay dues.
Bye-bye business.
TR
You have to be careful what you wish for, first thing to go will be employees and those that are left will be working twice as hard, next will be any fringes they may have gotten like free or reduced meals etc. etc. etc. Like every feely good program this will leave those it was meant to help worse off, but it sure sounds good.
No Problemo, TR..
They have plenty of future employees that don't need Unions..
And will work for less..
NurseTim
06-03-2014, 19:37
Two words, unintended consequences.
No Problemo, TR..
They have plenty of future employees that don't need Unions..
And will work for less..
There'll be an app for that. ;)
Pat
mojaveman
06-04-2014, 12:02
I'll bet all those Seattle coffee shops are loving this...:rolleyes:
Before they and all of the other fast food, formal restaurants and other service oriented companies go out of business. ;)
There was a story floating around a few days ago about that little community next to SEATAC.
I have no idea if it's for real or not but it listed a number of benefits the minimum wage workers were getting that were canned when it went up to $15 an hour.
Little stuff that added up fast like overtime, free parking, food.
There was a story floating around a few days ago about that little community next to SEATAC.
I have no idea if it's for real or not but it listed a number of benefits the minimum wage workers were getting that were canned when it went up to $15 an hour.
Little stuff that added up fast like overtime, free parking, food.
I heard them speaking about this on the radio yesterday, here is a link .
http://www.washingtonpolicy.org/blog/post/seatac%E2%80%99s-15-minimum-wage-hurting-workers-it-supposed-help
Northwest Asian Weekly reports that employees earning the new wage in SeaTac have lost benefits such as 401k, paid holidays and paid vacation, free food, free parking and overtime hours. One hotel waitress said she is earning less because tips have decreased since the high wage has been in effect. In many cases these benefits plus the lower state minimum wage added more value to workers’ earnings than the new $15 wage.
Two words, unintended consequences.
...Northwest Asian Weekly reports that employees earning the new wage in SeaTac have lost benefits such as 401k, paid holidays and paid vacation, free food, free parking and overtime hours. One hotel waitress said she is earning less because tips have decreased since the high wage has been in effect. In many cases these benefits plus the lower state minimum wage added more value to workers’ earnings than the new $15 wage.
The prophecy and it's fulfillment.
Beloved SF bookstore becomes casualty of minimum wage hike
http://abc7news.com/business/sf-bookstore-becomes-casualty-of-minimum-wage-hike-/502008/
The owner's take "..."I can't increase the prices of my products because books, unlike many other things, have a price printed on them,"..."
and
One of the voters "..."You know, I voted for the measure as well, the minimum wage measure," customer Edward Vallecillo said. "It's not something that I thought would affect certain specific small businesses. I feel sad." ..."
MiTTMedic
02-03-2015, 06:49
Now, those that had worked hard to get raises to $15/hour are now getting paid minimum wage.
Now, those that had worked hard to get raises to $15/hour are now getting paid minimum wage.
And union wages tied to the minimum wage will all be going up.
George McGovern - 1992:
In 1988, I invested most of the earnings from this lecture circuit acquiring the leasehold on Connecticut’s Stratford Inn. … In retrospect, I wish I had known more about the hazards and difficulties of such a business, especially during a recession of the kind that hit New England just as I was acquiring the inn’s 43-year leasehold. I also wish that during the years I was in public office, I had had this firsthand experience about the difficulties business people face every day. That knowledge would have made me a better U.S. senator and a more understanding presidential contender.
Link: http://digital.library.ucla.edu/websites/2008_993_056/Politician_Dream.htm
Pat
My understanding here in Upstate NY is that after doing a two-year associates program in machining, the starting pay is about $12 - $14 an hour.
That's meaningless, unless you compare the cost of living in that area to Seattle's.
One of the strengths of the US is we have all of these laboratories where new ideas get tested. Fifty states and thousands of communities. This will work itself out. Not without some pain, though.
Not in Seattle, but in San Fran, where they also passed a $15/hr minimum wage, Borderlands Books, a longtime independent book store in San Fransisco, is closing their doors, due directly to the required wage increase.
http://www.borderlands-books.com/
In November, San Francisco voters overwhelmingly passed a measure that will increase the minimum wage within the city to $15 per hour by 2018. Although all of us at Borderlands support the concept of a living wage in principal and we believe that it's possible that the new law will be good for San Francisco -- Borderlands Books as it exists is not a financially viable business if subject to that minimum wage. Consequently we will be closing our doors no later than March 31st.
They are using that as an excuse, bookstores have been going out of business left and right for a number of years. :munchin
Longtime Seattle manufacturer moving 100 jobs to Nevada
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Longtime-Seattle-manufacturer-moving-100-jobs-to-Nevada-291123731.html
"SEATTLE -- If you own outdoor recreational gear, there's a good chance you have something made at Cascade Designs.
The company manufactures MSR camping stoves, Platypus hydration packs, SeaLine dry bags, and Therma-A-Rest sleeping pads -- hundreds of products made by workers in Seattle. Those workers had a bombshell dropped on them Thursday.
The company based in Seattle's SODO district along 1st Avenue South is moving 100 jobs later this year to a new plant it's leasing near Reno, Nevada. That's 20 percent of the work force. Some employees have been offered positions, but others will have to reapply...."
Drip, Drip, Drip - but we're building a better place to live.
Longtime Seattle manufacturer moving 100 jobs to Nevada
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Longtime-Seattle-manufacturer-moving-100-jobs-to-Nevada-291123731.html
"SEATTLE -- If you own outdoor recreational gear, there's a good chance you have something made at Cascade Designs.
The company manufactures MSR camping stoves, Platypus hydration packs, SeaLine dry bags, and Therma-A-Rest sleeping pads -- hundreds of products made by workers in Seattle. Those workers had a bombshell dropped on them Thursday.
The company based in Seattle's SODO district along 1st Avenue South is moving 100 jobs later this year to a new plant it's leasing near Reno, Nevada. That's 20 percent of the work force. Some employees have been offered positions, but others will have to reapply...."
Drip, Drip, Drip - but we're building a better place to live.
Maybe Seattle can impose one of those "one time" 14% forced exactions AKA taxes - on "foreign" earnings... isn't that what libs propose when producers relocate due to high taxes and other anti-business policies?
Longtime Seattle manufacturer moving 100 jobs to Nevada
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Longtime-Seattle-manufacturer-moving-100-jobs-to-Nevada-291123731.html
"SEATTLE -- If you own outdoor recreational gear, there's a good chance you have something made at Cascade Designs.
The company manufactures MSR camping stoves, Platypus hydration packs, SeaLine dry bags, and Therma-A-Rest sleeping pads -- hundreds of products made by workers in Seattle. Those workers had a bombshell dropped on them Thursday.
The company based in Seattle's SODO district along 1st Avenue South is moving 100 jobs later this year to a new plant it's leasing near Reno, Nevada. That's 20 percent of the work force. Some employees have been offered positions, but others will have to reapply...."
Drip, Drip, Drip - but we're building a better place to live.
Company executives insist wages weren't the deciding factor. CascadeDesigns has run out of room and contends it can't afford to expand in the SODO district.
The Reaper
02-07-2015, 11:42
Company executives insist wages weren't the deciding factor. CascadeDesigns has run out of room and contends it can't afford to expand in the SODO district.
Sure.
TR
Company executives insist wages weren't the deciding factor. CascadeDesigns has run out of room and contends it can't afford to expand in the SODO district.
Not the deciding factor but undoubtably a contributing factor.
Not the deciding factor but undoubtably a contributing factor.
The high cost of renting/buying factory space is the major factor.
I owned and operated manufacturing, and distribution businesses in two states and the cost of leasing/buying space was the at the top of my list of reasons for locating, and relocating.
The high cost of renting/buying factory space is the major factor.
I owned and operated manufacturing, and distribution businesses in two states and the cost of leasing/buying space was the at the top of my list of reasons for locating, and relocating.
WCH, respectfully, all costs (and aspects) of doing business - in their entirety (i.e., including but not limited to, rent, wages, utilities, taxes, tax credits and incentives, and a viable work force, etc., etc.,) are generally considered in a business relocation decision. Depending on the specific type of business, its unique characteristics (i.e., large labor costs versus smaller labor cost but substantial equipment and R&D, utility costs) and the unique needs of the specific business, some factors typically weigh more heavily than others in a relocation decision.
From the article in OP:
"While the company does have a plant in Ireland, Burroughs said the mission is to keep production in the United States. He said the $15 an hour minimum wage would eventually add up to a few million dollars a year." E.S.
The fact that corporate leaders are discussing the increased cost of wages suggests that it was most likely one of many factors contributing to the relocation decision. Even conceding that rent was the largest factor in this particular relocation decision - the city of Seattle most likely did not help themselves by mandating an increase in the cost of wages.
Team Sergeant
02-07-2015, 13:41
It's going to be amusing to watch the Socialist Seattle exodus.....
It will be much too late by the time the Seattle Socialists realize no businesses want to come to Seattle.
Enjoy your "Dope" Seattle, you've earned it.
Minimum Wage Limbo Keeps Small Business Owners Up At Night
http://kuow.org/post/minimum-wage-limbo-keeps-small-business-owners-night
"As the Seattle City Council continues to debate a plan to phase in a $15 minimum wage, and as minimum wage advocates gather signatures to put an even stronger measure on the November ballot, businesses in the city are finding themselves in an uncomfortable position: in limbo.
Many businesses report putting off hiring, expansion or investment decisions until the outcome of the minimum wage debate is clear.
“People are just scared and they don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Angela Stowell, who co-owns 10 restaurants in the city. “They’re paralyzed by the uncertainty.”..."
It ain't just Book Stores......May 2014 story.
x SF med
02-08-2015, 07:11
Try living in the PNW... small businesses like delis/minimarts are not hiring outside of the family because they can't afford to.
And.... this area is a Union controlled "right to work" state ... so imagine the messes that brings to the labor laws.
The Socialist that pushed this is a city councilwoman now, and has been arrested 3 times 9Ithink) for unlawful congregation... setting up unpermitted protests of more than 100 people in high traffic areas stopping the ingress and egress of customers to businesses, 40-50% of whom are paid by........ the Socialist Party in America. this self same city council woman, gives up her pay from the city to 15Now organization, she doesn't need it, she makes 7 figures from her marketing company.
...the extra boost in pay is to help cover the cost of rolling papers
Interesting - I had not looked before but just scratch the surface of these ideas and you eventually seem to find a Marxist. Complete article at link below.
Meet the Marxist behind Seattle's wage hike
Kshama Sawant has gone from Occupy Wall Street to occupying Seattle City Council.
Now, fresh off Seattle's historic passage of a $15 minimum wage, the self-described Marxist is ready to make it a national fight.
Sawant -- whose full name is pronounced "Shah-mah Sah-want" -- emigrated to the U.S. from India and earned a PhD in economics from North Carolina State University before taking a teaching position at Seattle Central Community College. She says she was radicalized politically by the gaping inequality she observed upon arriving in the world's richest country.
The veteran activist, who supported the Occupy movement that cropped up in the wake of the Great Recession and bank bailout, ran for city council last year under the banner of Socialist Alternative, an organization that calls for "international struggle" against global capitalism.
<snip>
http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/24/news/economy/seattle-marxist-minimum-wage/
CNNMoney (Seattle) June 24, 2014: 10:09 AM ET
Team Sergeant
02-08-2015, 09:28
That's ok. So we have a few major cities that want to model their government like Socialist Greece, and we know what happened to Greece.
So when they go bankrupt (and they will) who's going to bail them out? How many liberal/progressive cities in America have gone bankrupt?
I'm getting real tired paying for the liberal/progressive/socialist communist social experiments.
What's most amusing is the moron Kshama Sawant stays in this country to spread her bullshit and does not return to her native country to help it out of complete poverty. I guess making six to seven figures a year in America is much better than begging in the streets of India......
Kshama Sawant socialist hypocrite.
That's ok. So we have a few major cities that want to model their government like Socialist Greece.
Kshama Sawant socialist hypocrite.
True that TS. Another idiot in search of a village - but what surprises me is the number of folks that should know better buying into these self destructive policy choices.
Try living in the PNW... small businesses like delis/minimarts are not hiring outside of the family because they can't afford to.
And.... this area is a Union controlled "right to work" state ... so imagine the messes that brings to the labor laws.
The Socialist that pushed this is a city councilwoman now, and has been arrested 3 times 9Ithink) for unlawful congregation... setting up unpermitted protests of more than 100 people in high traffic areas stopping the ingress and egress of customers to businesses, 40-50% of whom are paid by........ the Socialist Party in America. this self same city council woman, gives up her pay from the city to 15Now organization, she doesn't need it, she makes 7 figures from her marketing company.
Don't you just love it when those that got "theirs" are so concerned about all us little folks?
Team Sergeant
02-08-2015, 11:43
True that TS. Another idiot in search of a village - but what surprises me is the number of folks that should know better buying into these self destructive policy choices.
Just a minute, my obama phone is ringing.......
The low IQ Entitlement crowd only grows larger each day.
WarriorDiplomat
02-09-2015, 06:47
Interesting - I had not looked before but just scratch the surface of these ideas and you eventually seem to find a Marxist. Complete article at link below.
Meet the Marxist behind Seattle's wage hike
Kshama Sawant has gone from Occupy Wall Street to occupying Seattle City Council.
Now, fresh off Seattle's historic passage of a $15 minimum wage, the self-described Marxist is ready to make it a national fight.
Sawant -- whose full name is pronounced "Shah-mah Sah-want" -- emigrated to the U.S. from India and earned a PhD in economics from North Carolina State University before taking a teaching position at Seattle Central Community College. She says she was radicalized politically by the gaping inequality she observed upon arriving in the world's richest country.
The veteran activist, who supported the Occupy movement that cropped up in the wake of the Great Recession and bank bailout, ran for city council last year under the banner of Socialist Alternative, an organization that calls for "international struggle" against global capitalism.
<snip>
http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/24/news/economy/seattle-marxist-minimum-wage/
CNNMoney (Seattle) June 24, 2014: 10:09 AM ET
There you go with a Phd in economics, the free 2 yr college Obama plan is going to produce more of these.
I suspect her criticism of Obama is similar to many self-described Marxists...that "fundamental transformation" just ain't happening fast enough -- top down bottom up inside out. Van Jones says it best...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TWrdgkt9z_c
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a_-vgtYkJdA
"She says she was radicalized politically by the gaping inequality she observed upon arriving in the world's richest country." Coming from India...that is rich. Radicalized by her own success in the USA? These folks are about power and division.
Kshama is a member of Socialist Alternative, which is in solidarity with the Committee for a Workers’ International, a group that organizes for working-class interests on every continent across the world. For more visit www.SocialistAlternative.org
http://www.socialistalternative.org
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/votesawant/pages/311/attachments/original/1418439939/Kshama_newsletter_1-smaller_file_size.pdf?1418439939
http://www.seattlecentral.edu
http://www.seattle.gov/council/councilcontact.htm#sawant
Since Seattle appears to embrace the socialist city counsel woman - I became curious about what might be going on in Seattle and began poking around the Seattle scene.
Below is a little excerpt from a Seattle publisher (I arrived at the publisher's link through one of the many counsel woman supporters). The publisher, the counsel woman and the overall tone of the Seattle scene might provide insight into a larger vision, at least from their perspective. Whether it is accurate or not, it is what many who support the socialist movement in Seattle (the country?) appear to believe. Subversion appears to be a theme and incrementalism an accepted tactic. The end game appears to be fundamental transformation...sound familiar?
Fascinating, and in their own words...this was not a random search but a click through some links supporting the counsel woman...from the Red Letter Press, Seattle, WA...links below...
Radical books - Feminist writings - Socialist theory - Race liberation - Queer activism
Socialism 101
What is socialism?
Socialism is an economic system characterized by public ownership and centralized planning of all major industries (manufacturing, services, and energy), banks and insurance companies, agribusiness, transportation, the media, and medical facilities. Under capitalism, these giant enterprises dominate the economy but are privately owned and operated for the purpose of generating wealth for their owners by extracting it from working people who are paid only a small fraction of what their labor produces. Socialism turns this around so that the class that produces the wealth can collectively decide how it will be used for the benefit of all.
As African American poet and communist Langston Hughes wrote in "Good Morning, Revolution":
…Together,
We can take everything:
Factories, arsenals, houses, ships,
Railroads, forests, fields, orchards…
And turn 'em over to the people who work.
Rule 'em and run 'em for us people who work.
Real socialism is, by definition, democratic. It is economic as well as political democracy. Many capitalist countries boast of their democratic institutions, but this is an illusion because all the political power is in the hands of those who hold the wealth. Socialism prioritizes human needs and eliminates the profit motive that drives war, ecological destruction, and inequalities based on gender, race, nationality and sexuality.
Like capitalism, socialism must be international so that global resources can be shared. No country can be truly independent of the global economy because until capitalism is defeated internationally it will continue to sabotage efforts to build socialism. Achieving socialism in the United States, the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world, is necessary to any country being able to determine its own destiny.
Types of socialism
Most socialists identify themselves as Marxists in recognition of Karl Marx, who discovered the economic laws underlying capitalism. Marx and his lifelong collaborator Frederick Engels laid the foundation of Marxist economics, the philosophical concept of dialectical materialism, and the method of social analysis known as historical materialism.
Leninism denotes the concepts of a disciplined, revolutionary party and the principled, intransigent vision of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, key leader of the 1917 Russian Revolution. Lenin's works on imperialism, the nature of the state, and the rights of national minorities are essential components of the socialist tradition.
Trotskyism is the continuation of the Marxist and Leninist current led by Leon Trotsky, co-leader with Lenin of the Russian Revolution. When the Stalinist bureaucracy rose to power in the Soviet Union in the late 1920s, Trotsky rallied an international Left Opposition against the betrayal of the revolution's goals. Trotskyism stands for Permanent Revolution, internationalism, and the strategy of the united front against fascism. Trotsky was murdered by a Stalinist assassin in 1940.
Socialist feminism was developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s by founders of the Freedom Socialist Party and Radical Women. It is a Marxist, Leninist, and Trotskyist tendency that acknowledges that the most oppressed sector of the modern working class is composed of women, particularly women of color, whose life experience of exploitation gives them the strength and determination to carry through a revolution against all forms of oppression. Socialist feminists recognize the revolutionary leadership of workingclass women, people of color, and queers, and others multiply afflicted by capitalism. Socialist feminists orient to grassroots, rank-and-file women and men rather than to the predominantly white male aristocrats of labor who make up the union bureaucracy.
Several currents that emerged from the socialist and communist movements have lost their revolutionary character and misstate the basic principles of socialism's founders. These include: social-democrats, socialist reformers who support mere electoral revision of the capitalist system; Stalinists, who arose out of the Soviet bureaucracy as supporters of Stalin's brutal dictatorship and who advocate peaceful co-existence with capitalism and immersion in bourgeois parties; and Maoists, China-oriented Stalinists, who frequently describe themselves as Marxist-Leninists.
To cite this webpage: “Socialism 101,” Red Letter Press, 27 August 2007, http://www.redletterpress.org/socialism101.html (accessed Date Month Year).
http://www.redletterpress.org
Welcome to the Red Letter Press radical and feminist online bookstore!
Red Letter Press publishes books and pamphlets to inform and arm today's activists with the ideas, experiences and history of radical and workingclass women and men, people of color and sexual minorities, and others in the global movement for social change. We focus on socialist works that pose the question of capitalism or socialism, that advance human rights and combat prejudice, that educate about civil liberties, Marxist ideas and labor history, clarify international issues, propose solutions to labor exploitation, racism, sexism and homophobia, and encourage dialogue, critical thought and grassroots rebellion. Shop at our online bookstore or ask your favorite radical, feminist and independent booksellers to carry our books.
Please “like” our Facebook page!
This is one of their many publications:
The Radical Women
Manifesto:
Socialist Feminist Theory, Program, & Structure
Complete guide to a thriving multiracial, queer and straight, socialist feminist organization founded in 1967 and still subversive as ever.
This is Kernel Van Jones at the link below.
Let's remove all pretense and get this party started...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TnDxzvc0OXk
So, it all starts with a Kernel, eh !!
Streck-Fu
02-09-2015, 12:46
Sawant -- whose full name is pronounced "Shah-mah Sah-want" -- emigrated to the U.S. from India and earned a PhD in economics from North Carolina State University
:(