WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

An Economy That Works for Everyone

*Telephone Town Hall Announcement*

We hope you’ll join us for our third annual Telephone Town Hall at 6pm on Thursday, March 12th! This will be a chance to ask us questions and hear about what we are up to in Olympia. The audio for the telephone town hall we held last year is available here.

*To participate on March 12th, please dial 1-877-229-8493 and use the PIN 18646 at 6:00pm.*

An Economy That Works for Everyone

This week we’ve been voting on the House floor all day, every day, sometimes late into the night. On Tuesday afternoon the House debated—and ultimately passed on party lines—bills to require paid sick leave for hard-working Washingtonians and to raise the minimum wage to $12 per hour gradually over the next four years.

 No one who works hard day-in and day-out should have to choose between paying the electric bill and putting dinner on the table. Washington has been a leader in supporting hard-working families, with the highest minimum wage in the country. But $9.47/hour is not enough for a family to make ends meet. If Washington adopts a $12/hour minimum wage, over half a million workers across the state will earn up to a billion dollars more to spend on clothes, housing, food, household items, and other goods that goes right back into our economy.

Raising the minimum wage isn’t just what’s right for workers—it will benefit our economy as well. After the voters of SeaTac approved a $15 minimum wage, many claimed it would force businesses to close and the city’s economy would enter a death spiral. A year later, 1,500 workers have seen a wage increase, there’s been no impact in sales or property tax revenue, and businesses are even expanding. Businesses continue to open and hotels (which can avoid the increased wage if they have less than 100 rooms) are expanding. We’ve seen that minimum wage increases don’t hurt local businesses, but they make an incredible difference to a working family.

In Minnesota, the new governor worked with a Republican legislature to raise the minimum wage and increase income taxes on incomes over $150,000 and the end result? Lower unemployment, a stronger economy, AND a budget SURPLUS of over $1 billion.

On top of struggling to support a family on low wages, right now too many parents have to choose between caring for their sick child and making enough money to put food on the table. And too many employees show up to work sick for fear of getting fired. This puts children, parents and consumers at risk and strips hard-working people of their opportunity to support and care for their families.

Not only is paid sick leave necessary for the vitality of Washington, its workers, and to public health and safety, but it is sound business practice. When employees are healthy they are more productive. Maintaining a healthy work environment also protects clients and consumers. This bill supports our working families as well as the economic stability of our state.

The bills now move to the Republican-controlled Senate, where we can expect cor porate interests to outweigh the interests of working Washingtonians. There’s a “you’re-on-your-own” mentality gaining ground in Olympia, perpetuated by wealthy corporations at the top of our economy. But we know that when we invest in our families, we all do better.

What would a higher minimum wage and paid sick leave mean to you? We want to hear your story. We hope you’ll talk to your friends and neighbors about how we can build Washington’s economy from the middle class up.