(The Center Square) – Members and supporters of the organization Workers Strike Back are calling on the Seattle City Council to oppose a proposed bill to extend the city’s $2.72 tip credit.
Seattle’s current minimum wage is $19.97 per hour, but businesses that employ fewer than 500 employees can pay $17.25 per hour if they pay $2.72 per hour toward medical benefits, or if the employee earns $2.72 per hour in tips.
That tip credit is set to expire at the end of this year if the city does not act to extend it.
Seattle City Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth proposed legislation to amend the city’s minimum wage ordinance to permanently establish the current minimum compensation as the pay standard for small employers.
However, after public outcry from Workers Strike Back and other community members, Hollingsworth pulled proposed Council Bill 120830 in order to have discussions with stakeholders to find a “balanced solution.”
During Tuesday’s Seattle City Council meeting, Workers Strike Back supporters spoke during a public comment period that lasted nearly an hour, demanding that the city council not allow the tiered minimum wage system to continue permanently.
Former Seattle City Councilmember and socialist Kshama Sawant attended the city council meeting. She is the head of Workers Strike Back and has called for a $25 per hour minimum wage, an end to all U.S. military funding to Israel and the occupation of Palestinian lands, and a new political party for the working people, among other demands.
During her time as city councilmember, Sawant campaigned on a $15 minimum wage, which the city passed, becoming the first U.S. city to hit that mark. She also worked to get the city’s JumpStart Payroll Tax on big businesses signed into law, which she refers to as the “Amazon tax.”
Sawant called on City Councilmember Tammy Morales to publicly decry Council Bill 120830 rather than “sit on the sidelines.” Morales is the one city councilmember Sawant believes is not in favor of the proposed bill.
“If I had done just the bare minimum, or not even the bare minimum like most Democrats, working people would never have won historic victories like the $15 minimum wage, Amazon tax and renters’ rights,” Sawant said during the public comment period during Tuesday’s city council meeting.
Hollingsworth said the bill intended to provide financial relief for small employers, as it would have mitigated the impact of increased labor costs and unexpectedly high inflation, while still guaranteeing a minimum earnings standard for employees. However, some community members say businesses should be able to provide workers with a living wage.
“Businesses who can’t afford to pay their workers a living wage frankly don’t deserve to be in business – they’re terrible at their jobs as business owners,” one public commenter said.
Council Bill 120830 is not set to be brought back in front of the city council in the near future.