Seattle Will Raise Minimum Wage to $15/hr By 2020; Automatic Annual 2.4% Increases

[Nehkara]

Seattle Announces $15 Minimum Wage, Highest In The U.S.

Seattle will raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour over the coming years under a deal brokered by Mayor Ed Murray and blessed by labor and business groups alike, city leaders announced Thursday afternoon.

The new pay floor will phase in at different speeds for businesses of different sizes, but all employers will have to meet the $15 minimum wage by the end of the decade. Businesses with more than 500 employees nationwide will have a three-year phase-in period, while smaller employers get five years to ratchet up their payscales.

After reaching $15 an hour, the city’s minimum wage will automatically climb by 2.4 percent each year regardless of the rate of inflation. Even among states with relatively strong minimum wage laws, automatic increases are uncommon. Thursday’s deal will make Seattle the national leader on municipal minimum wage laws. Washington currently has the highest pay floor of any state at $9.32 per hour.

[SebC]

2.4% regardless of inflation? Well, that's totally sustainable.

[calgarywinning]

I wonder what the cost of living is in Seattle. I would saying that $15 an hour in Calgary is a minimum wage based on cost of living. And we are legislated below that, however, it's for the market supply and demand to fix the rate not government.

My point being is while we have a legislated minimum wage, I doubt that any viable business is able to hire people for the AB minimum wage. The market has corrected. This was for a time where jobs were in short supply.

With the hole temporary foreign worker ban interfering with supply and demand I would expect the market rate to soar as well as end prices to the consumer for the workforce aspect.

SebC 2.4% is half the rate of inflation the City of Calgary is applying, as well as their minimum wage for companies bidding on contracts to pay a minimum wage. This is somewhere between $17 and $24 an hour. 45k to 57k a year.

I guess minimum wage in Canada is around $15. I think the cost of living adjustment this is 20-25% more than what Seattle is paying.

[peter12]

What a terrible idea.

[Red Slinger]

Originally Posted by peter12

What a terrible idea.

Go on...

[Northendzone]

two million coffee barista's are likely dancing in the streets today........it will be interesting to see what this does the the cost of living in Seattle

[East Coast Flame]

Cost of living is pretty crazy in Seattle. Rent is higher than Calgary and Vancouver.

[jammies]

Originally Posted by Red Slinger

Go on...

He's looking up the irrelevant but vaguely on-topic thoughts of someone old, dead, and white. Give him a few minutes.

[strombad]

Originally Posted by calgarywinning

I wonder what the cost of living is in Seattle. I would saying that $15 an hour in Calgary is a minimum wage based on cost of living. And we are legislated below that, however, it's for the market supply and demand to fix the rate not government.

My point being is while we have a legislated minimum wage, I doubt that any viable business is able to hire people for the AB minimum wage. The market has corrected. This was for a time where jobs were in short supply.

With the hole temporary foreign worker ban interfering with supply and demand I would expect the market rate to soar as well as end prices to the consumer for the workforce aspect.

SebC 2.4% is half the rate of inflation the City of Calgary is applying, as well as their minimum wage for companies bidding on contracts to pay a minimum wage. This is somewhere between $17 and $24 an hour. 45k to 57k a year.

I guess minimum wage in Canada is around $15. I think the cost of living adjustment this is 20-25% more than what Seattle is paying.

I hire people within a dollar of minimum wage alllllll the time.

Minimum wage is minimum wage, and I absolutely guarantee you that a LOT of people are making less than $15/hr.

It's a nice thought though, isn't it?

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Red Slinger

Go on...

You might think businesses will flee Seattle for Tacoma, Renton and Redmond?

[I-Hate-Hulse]

So we can tip less when we're down there now right?

[mykalberta]

Does that mean that everyone even non min wage employees now have to be given that if they work in SEA? I would love a guaranteed 2.4% increase.

How do employment laws work in the US, can SEA just unilaterally impose that and not the state of WAS?

[OutOfTheCube]

Originally Posted by strombad

I hire people within a dollar of minimum wage alllllll the time.

Minimum wage is minimum wage, and I absolutely guarantee you that a LOT of people are making less than $15/hr.

It's a nice thought though, isn't it?

Yep - there will ALWAYS be a gigantic market of 16 - 21 year olds living at home content with $10.50 an hour to spend on video games and beer.

[GGG]

I would perfer to see it indexed to inflation but 2.4% seems like an okay number. This takes the politics out of increases, its provides businesses with a predictable number instead of no change for multiple years and then big jumps

[Yakbutter]

Good. Paying people a liveable wage will get them off of all types of government hand outs. Food stamps, social assistance, tax breaks ect. The government shouldn't be helping business by subsidizing their workers.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by calgarywinning

SebC 2.4% is half the rate of inflation the City of Calgary is applying.

Be that as it may, modern monetary policy tends to keep inflation close to 2%. Over time, that 0.4% divergence becomes huge. Of course, I fully expect that this policy won't last long enough for it to become an issue.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by SebC

2.4% regardless of inflation? Well, that's totally sustainable.

I support minimum wage increases being linked to inflation, but I agree that an automatic 2.4% annual increase without any thought put into it seems problematic. Why not modify the wage every 3-5 years based on the average inflation during that period instead?

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by Yakbutter

Good. Paying people a liveable wage will get them off of all types of government hand outs. Food stamps, social assistance, tax breaks ect. The government shouldn't be helping business by subsidizing their workers.

:qq: THE GUBBERMINT HATES SMALL BUSINESS OWNERES :qq:

[calgarywinning]

Originally Posted by strombad

I hire people within a dollar of minimum wage alllllll the time.

Minimum wage is minimum wage, and I absolutely guarantee you that a LOT of people are making less than $15/hr.

It's a nice thought though, isn't it?

Seriously, I would like to know what industry. High school or less education for fast food? All service sector jobs are minimum of 12.50 to 14.50. I am very curious just for my own information.

I would think 9.25 or 9.95 for a student or kid who has no living costs in a restaurant type situation. And for this amount you aren't going to get any reliability and a high turn over rate unless you are managing very well.

BC minimum wage is supposedly being pushed to 13.25 an hour.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

I support minimum wage increases being linked to inflation, but I agree that an automatic 2.4% annual increase without any thought put into it seems problematic. Why not modify the wage every 3-5 years based on the average inflation during that period instead?

If you're not going to bring the minimum wage in line with cost of living in one fell swoop, you have to have increases outpace inflation to compensate over a specified term to bring things up to a standard.

The minimum wage in many areas needs to be increased to provide a liveable wage. Once a liveable wage is established, then a 'minimum wage' could be implemented.