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The
Daily Signal
Organization
Pushes for Ballot Referendum on Seattle $15 Minimum Wage
Philip
Wegmann
July
07, 2014
In
Seattle, a grassroots organization has submitted a petition complete
with nearly 20,000 signatures—well above the 16,000 signature
prerequisite, calling for a ballot referendum to repeal the city’s
minimum wage hike, which will eventually increase the hourly wage to
$15 an hour.
On
Wednesday, Seattle Forward, a non-partisan coalition of local
business owners and citizens, delivered a referendum request they
hope will qualify their measure for a popular vote during the next
election.
The
group seeks to overturn Seattle’s historic $15 “living wage”
law that was approved unanimously by the City Council and passed into
law by Mayor Ed Murray last month. If approved by the city clerk’s
office, Seattle citizens would vote up or down directly on the
measure at the ballot box.
“Right
now, the (Seattle) ordinance on the table we think is going to be
pretty damaging to the city from the business perspective, and from
the workers’ perspective,” explained Angela Cough, co-chairman of
Seattle Forward, to Reuters.
Sage
Wilson of the organization Working Washington, which supports the
living wage law, disagrees. In an interview with Fox News, Wilson
characterized Seattle Forward as a “small fringe group” who has
employed “shady tactics to repeal that law.”
James
Sherk, a senior analyst at The Heritage Foundation, says there’s no
room for serious debate.
“Economists
debate the employment effects of small increases in the minimum
wage,” Sherk said “but virtually all economists — on both the
left and right – agree that large increases in the minimum wage
eliminate large numbers of jobs and hurt their intended
beneficiaries.”
The
Seattle Forward petition represents the second legal challenge to be
mounted. Last month the International Franchise Association filed
suit against the city over the $15 wage hike.
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this and other articles with links at The Daily Signal
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