Every week organizers with Raise the Wage Rentonstand outside grocery stores collecting signatures. They hope to collect the 9,000 signatures needed to put a $19 minimum wage proposal on the November ballot.
Renton City Council member Carmen Rivera has endorsed the campaign. She said it’s an effort that local officials have to take on.
"I don't believe we're going to see this happen at the state level," she said in a recent interview with KNKX.
Rivera said she believes a higher minimum wage is needed because workers of color are still being left behind in King County.
"Those that have the least amount of wealth in our city are Hispanic and Black families," she said.
The measure exempts businesses with fewer than 15 employees. Businesses with up to 500 employees would have a multiyear phase-in period. The proposal also asks that employers give available work hours to existing part-time employees instead of hiring new workers.
Seattle, SeaTac and Tukwila already have a minimum wage that sits at about $19 an hour.
With adjustments for inflation, Washington state’s minimum wage is currently $15.74. Organizers with the Raise the Wage Renton campaign say with high rents and food prices, that’s not good enough for working families.
They say the campaign is getting broad support.
"We've got homeowners, we've got renters, we've got workers, we've got business owners across the spectrum," Bailey Medilo, a board member with Raise the Wage Renton, told KNKX.
"We've got communities privileged and disadvantaged that are all excited for this opportunity to help out our workers."
Organizers hope to deliver the petition by the end of June. King County officials would then need to verify the signatures by Aug. 1.
