The battle over letting voters decide on a higher minimum wage and new workplace protections in Tacoma continues.
Now, the city is challenging a Sept. 9 order from a Pierce County superior court judge to put the initiative on the February special election ballot. The city filed a notice to appeal the court's decision on Friday.
This all stems from the city council voting to send Initiative No. 2 to Pierce County on Aug. 8. That was three days after the deadline for the city to submit the initiative for it to be on the November ballot. Given the county deadline, the initiative couldn't go on the ballot.
The initiative is being called the Workers' Bill of Rights. It would bring Tacoma's minimum wage up to $20 an hour and then adjust the threshold with inflation, and require employers to give notice at least two weeks in advance for work schedules.
"This is being led by working people. It is for working people," said Ann Dorn, chair of Tacoma For All. "They are fair protections that will offer workers dignity and lead to more stable and thriving communities."
In a statement Friday, Mayor Victoria Woodards wrote, "The City's decision to appeal the recent court ruling is a necessary step to resolve significant legal questions raised in the trial court's ruling and seek clarification regarding the process under the City Charter and state law for placing an initiative on the ballot."
Tacoma For All, the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 367, and the Tacoma Democratic Socialists of America who penned the initiative, sued the city when the initiative didn't make it to the November ballot.
"It's okay if council and the mayor do not agree with the underlying initiative," Dorn said. "What's important here is that they let people decide, and we are calling on the city to do exactly that."
Woodards explained in a press release on Aug. 8 that the council did not have enough time to review the initiative's potential impacts.
"The City Council's review resulted in choosing not to adopt an initiative we cannot be confident is in the best interest of all the people of Tacoma," Woodards said.
Pierce County Superior Court Judge Philip E. Thorton ruled that the city acted in an "arbitrary and capricious manner" by acting to put the initiative on the November election ballot after the deadline had passed, according to court documents.
In his decision, Thorton wrote that this action by the Tacoma City Council was a violation of the plaintiffs' constitutionally protected substantive and procedural due process rights, and ordered that the initiative be placed on the February ballot.
Ten days later, the city filed a motion to reconsider, claiming that the judge overstepped the court's powers by ordering the initiative be placed on the February ballot.
" Regardless of how you feel about the underlying initiative, everyone should be concerned that it's currently the city's position that nobody be allowed to vote," Dorn said.
Pierce County Auditor Linda Farmer wrote that her office was proceeding as directed by the Pierce County Superior Court.
"We will, of course, comply with any future court orders," Farmer wrote in an email.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
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