BossFeed Briefing for December 12,2016. In three weeks the state minimum wage rises to $11/hour (on the way to $13.50), and the first group of Seattle workers see their minimum wage reach $15/hour. A week after that, the State Legislature meets to begin the 2017 legislative session.
Three things to know this week:
🍔 Anti-minimum wage multimillionaire fast food CEO Andy Puzder is the President-elect’s pick to be the next Secretary of Labor. Investigations by the current Labor Department have found wage theft violations more than half the time they've examined practices at the Hardee's and Carl's Jr. chains he currently runs.
😘 The Seattle minimum wage experiment is over, a leading economics blogger wrote — and it’s been a resounding success. Despite the Chicken Little predictions, wages are up, the city is growing, unemployment is below 4%, and the restaurant industry is booming. We look forward to seeing similar results across Washington as the statewide minimum wage rises to $13.50/hour over the next few years, thanks to the vote to pass Initiative 1433 last month.
🎰 Nationwide, the Fight for Fifteen has sparked wage increases adding up to $62 billion, new research shows. When more people have more money, that means more customers for more businesses. So higher wages mean more prosperity for all.
Two things to look out for:
🛍 Speaking of numbers in the $60-something billion range… Amazon.com, whose founder & CEO Jeff Bezos is worth $65 billion, is currently advertising a job doing customer service… in two languages… in Washington… for just $10/hour. He might want to google the minimum wage. (And thanks to a reader for the tip!)
🏛 Several notable bills have already been filed ahead of the next State Legislative session in January, including a couple proposals designed to attack labor unions, and another which would break off Eastern Washington into a new state called “Liberty”.
And one thing that’s worth a closer look:
💯 In a creative approach to address income inequality, the Portland City Council passed a new law which raises the local tax rate on corporations that pay their CEOs more than 100 times what the median employee is paid.
Read this far?
🎩 Consider yourself briefed, boss.
The BossFeed Briefing is our look at the world of work, wages, and inequality. Support the BossFeed Briefing — Donate to Working Washington