When fast food workers in Seattle went on strike against poverty-wage jobs, our city responded by making history: business groups, worker organizations, elected officials, and community leaders came together and reached agreement on the nation's first $15 minimum wage.

The central compromise that made the deal happen was a ten-year-long phase-in period that ensured every worker would eventually reach the same inflation-adjusted minimum wage, while allowing additional time for smaller businesses to see the benefits of increased consumer demand before they had to pay the same rate.

The deal held, Seattle’s economy boomed, and we inspired cities and states across the country to raise their wages too. In fact, Seattle’s minimum wage law has been so popular that every single serious candidate for local office for the past ten years has understood that the suggestion they might roll back Seattle’s minimum wage law would be a dealbreaker for their campaign.

And yet some industry lobby groups are trying to get City Council to break the deal that was struck in 2014, and establish a permanent subminimum wage for tipped workers.

Send a message to tell City Council that rolling back our minimum wage law is a dealbreaker — no permanent subminimum wages for tipped workers.

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Seattle's landmark $15 minimum wage law is by far the most popular thing the city has done in decades. It was negotiated and endorsed by a broad range of business groups, worker organizations, and elected officials.

But now, a decade after the deal was struck, some industry lobby groups are trying to get City Council to reverse course. Just like every time any labor standard has been debated for the past 100 years, industry lobbyists are hollering that if they can’t pay workers less, the sky will fall. Instead of continuing to enjoy the booming growth that comes from higher wages, some are trying to go back on the deal that was struck in 2014, and establish a permanent subminimum wage for tipped workers.

And at least some members of City Council seem to be taking this seriously.

Subminimum wages are terrible politics, as the experience of Washington DC shows. In 2018, voters in that city passed a popular initiative to raise the minimum wage and eliminate that city’s subminimum wage for tipped workers. After aggressive lobbying from restaurant industry groups, DC’s City Council made the extraordinarily stupid decision to override the initiative and re-establish a subminimum wage for tipped workers in the city. This move was wildly unpopular, so another initiative was brought to eliminate the subminimum wage once and for all. It passed with a remarkable 74% of the vote, even though restaurant industry lobbyists outspent labor groups by 50%.

Subminimum wages are even worse economics. When businesses pay people more, they spend more locally, and our economy grows. For the past 10 years, Seattle has had the nation’s strongest minimum wage law, and our economy has been among the strongest in the nation. That’s not a coincidence. Seattle is growing because we raised wages. It’s simple: when more people get paid more money, that means more customers for more businesses. When workers can afford to spend money at local community businesses, that's better for everyone.

Tell City Council and the Mayor: subminimum wages are a dealbreaker. Protect our minimum wage law.