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June 2, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Sawant, News Releases

Councilmember Kshama Sawant Statement in Support of Minimum Wage Ordinance

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City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6/2/2014

Councilmember Kshama Sawant

Councilmember Kshama Sawant Statement in Support of Minimum Wage Ordinance

Final Speech As Delivered

SEATTLE - Councilmember Kshama Sawant delivered the following speech today in support of the Council's adoption of a $15 per hour minimum wage:

A half century ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for a living wage at the March on Washington, where a quarter of a million people, mostly black workers, demanded their rights. They called for $2 per hour. In today's dollars, that is the same number we have just won - Dr. King and his movement had launched the first fight for 15, at the same time they fought against the brutal racism of Jim Crow.

With this vote, Seattle will become the first major city in the U.S. to win a $15 per hour minimum wage.

Our victory comes less than six months after the launch of 15 Now, after the election of the first socialist to the city council in 100 years. We built on the work of labor in SeaTac, on the growing movement of the fast food workers which began in New York one year before. We worked alongside organized labor in Seattle, which campaigned continuously for 15.

We forced the city establishment to lift the wages of 100,000 low wage workers in Seattle - to transfer $3 billion from business to workers at the bottom of the wage scale over the next 10 years.

We did this. Workers did this.

Today's first victory for 15 will inspire people all over the nation.

We need to recognize what happened here in Seattle that led us to this point.

15 was not won at the bargaining table as a so-called "sensible compromise" between labor and business. It was not the result of the generosity of corporations or their Democratic Party representatives in government.

What was voted on in the city council was a reflection of what workers and the labor movement won on the street over this last year.

In 15 Now, groups of workers and activists met weekly, held mass conferences and debates, organized rallies, and engaged thousands of people around the city about the need for a living wage. We won the public debate - in a recent poll 74% of voters now support 15. We defeated the arguments of business in the corporate media.

Let this be our guide. At every stage of the struggle, corporations and their representatives have sought to undermine our efforts. And future victories will also depend on the organization of working people fighting for our interests.

This is also why we need an alternative to the two parties representing business. Despite the Democratic Party posing as a progressive alternative to the Republicans - we can see here in Seattle how it was only with the election of a socialist that the establishment was forced to pass real gains for workers. We need many more independent and socialist candidates to turn the tide against corporate politics.

Our victory is not complete, but we have fought until the last day, the last hour, against all the loopholes demanded by business. I thank those councilmembers who voted for my pro-worker amendments.

We'll come back to the questions of tip penalty, the long-phase in, the training wage.

What was lost through corporate loopholes is a reminder to us that outcomes are determined by the balance of forces. It is a reminder that we need to continue to build an even more powerful movement. A movement strong enough to overcome the counterattacks from business. A movement that goes on from 15 to win further gains to address the stunning income inequality workers face - a movement that will fight for rent control, taxes on millionaires & big developers, and full funding for all public services.

I appeal to all workers to join the movement. The attempts of business to undermine 15 will continue, well after this vote today. They may submit legal challenges, they may challenge at the ballot, they may wait for their moment to make the "temporary" tip penalty permanent.

But today's message is clear: If we organize as workers, with a socialist strategy, we can tackle the chasm of income inequality and social injustice.

15 in Seattle is just a beginning. We have an entire world to win.

Solidarity.

[View in Council Newsroom]

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June 2, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Licata, News Releases

Councilmember Nick Licata Statement in Support of Minimum Wage Ordinance

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City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6/2/2014

Councilmember Nick Licata  

Councilmember Nick Licata Statement in Support of Minimum Wage Ordinance

Final Speech As Delivered

SEATTLE - Councilmember Nick Licata delivered the following speech today in support of the Council's adoption of a $15 per hour minimum wage:

Mario Savio once said, as he was being dragged away by the police for setting up a card table on a campus without a permit to provide civil rights pamphlets. "There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious-makes you so sick at heart-that you can't take part. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working."

Savio said that 50 years ago, but it's true today as well. That's how the fast food workers acted exactly one year ago in Seattle when they walked off their jobs to be free from their exploitation. And that is a powerful word, filled with personal accusation. But it is not personal, it is a simple condition that has accompanied the growth of our market economy since the 1980's. The consolidation of capital into fewer and fewer hands, has dramatically transformed the dynamics of this democracy.

Our citizens, and I'm not talking about legal status here, I'm talking about the basic relationship of people to their government, have seen - not only their wealth diminish but their political power as well. And with the decline of their influence over their government they have seen their wages stagnate while corporate profits have piled up ever higher. In fact, the three largest employers of low-wage workers have all seen large profit increases in the last few years and are all more profitable than they were before the Great Recession.

The legislation we pass today is just one small step to strike a fair and sustainable path toward our city's and our nation's prosperity. To those who have said that the sky will fall, I assure them - the sun will continue to rise. Except when there is daylight, we will see fewer people living hand to mouth.

And there is' much more to be done! But I can think of no other city with better political and community leadership to passionately and pragmatically continue to close the income and wealth gap. And in doing so, Seattle will show what a true world class city is: A city where all the classes live in the same world - where they receive fair and livable compensation for an honest days' work.

We have much to be proud of. We should celebrate; we should all celebrate, because we have made the world a little better for all of us, owners and workers alike. Thanks to all who have worked so hard to get us to today's victory, a victory that will be heard around this nation.

We are here today thanks, first and foremost, to the fast food workers who walked off their jobs a year ago in Seattle and even before that across the nation. They risked their jobs to tum this nation around. To tum it from placing investor returns above the basic needs of our citizens.

However, to date, not one city has adopted $15 an hour - except Seattle. Others must follow. But it is not easy path to go down. As witnessed by how few are on it. It is also true, that the profits of the largest businesses have soared while worker wages have stagnated. In 1965, CEOs made 20.1 times the pay of the average worker. By 2012, that ratio was more than 10 times larger: CEOs made 273 times the pay of the average worker in 2012. As a result families are living on wages that are barely above the poverty level.

These are facts. And there are other facts - which we must face up to. We do not have magic wand. But we do have leaders. I have stood with the democratically elected leaders of over 10,000 organized Seattle laborers - in supporting the plan before us. I stood with them, because they struggled hard for every word in that agreement. They wanted much more. As did I; and as do many of you. I will continue to stand with them. I acknowledge their hard work. And I will work to duplicate their victory, in cities across the nation. And as such, I will not break ranks with them and I will continue to support what they have agreed to - in the plan as it is before us, neither water downed and nor altered.

[View in Council Newsroom]

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June 2, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Bagshaw, Councilmember Burgess, Councilmember Godden, Councilmember Harrell, Councilmember Licata, Councilmember O'Brien, Councilmember Rasmussen, Councilmember Sawant, News Releases

City Council Approves $15/hour Minimum Wage in Seattle

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6/2/2014
Councilmember Sally J. Clark
Council President Tim Burgess
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Jean Godden
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Mike O'Brie...

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May 29, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Licata, News Releases

Councilmember Licata Statement on Minimum Wage Committee Vote

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City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 5/29/2014

Councilmember Nick Licata

Councilmember Licata Statement on Minimum Wage Committee Vote

SEATTLE - Councilmember Nick Licata issued the following statement in response to the City Council's Minimum Wage and Income Inequality Committee's vote to raise Seattle's minimum wage to $15 an hour:

"The passage today of Seattle's $15 minimum wage legislation is a national game changer. Seattle, and other cities, are taking direct action to close our nation's huge income gap because the Federal and state governments have failed to do so. Seattle's new law opens the way for many workers to earn enough to meet their basic needs. It will raise their standard of living and by putting more dollars into our economy, stimulate greater business opportunities. By significantly raising the minimum wage, Seattle's prosperity will be shared by more people and create a sustainable model for continued growth.

"I am currently attending meetings in Chicago of the national Democratic Municipal Officials, to discuss how Seattle's success can be repeated in other cities.At the end of June, I will be attending similar meetings in New York with the national Local Progress organization. Without a doubt, we are witnessing a national surge of municipal officials who are demanding that we cannot continue to slip into a third class country with a shrinking middle class and families being pushed into poverty.

"The next critical step for Seattle to take is to create an Office of Labor Standards Enforcement, to ensure that all businesses are being treated equally under our labor laws. We cannot expect responsible businesses that are treating their employees fairly to be at a competitive disadvantage with those businesses that are not administering fair labor practices. I look forward to the creation of this new office at the start of next year."

[View in Council Newsroom]

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May 27, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Burgess, News Releases

Survey of Seattle parents finds wide support for high-quality, affordable preschool

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City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 5/27/2014

Council President Tim Burgess

Survey of Seattle parents finds wide support for high-quality, affordable preschool

SEATTLE - City Council heard findings today demonstrating wide support for elements included in the Seattle Preschool Program based on a survey of over 1,300 Seattle parents. Conducted by EMC Research, the survey found 96% of the parents believe that every child should have the opportunity for high-quality preschool regardless of family income, and 90% agree that government should help families pay for high-quality preschool.

The survey also found only 33% of parents had their children in full time preschool and Hispanics, African-Americans, and parents living in lower income communities were less likely to have sent their children to preschool.

"We found that, regardless of background or neighborhood, affordability and quality are what parents most want in a preschool program, which directly aligns with the outcomes the Seattle Preschool Program will deliver," said Council President Tim Burgess. "Closing the opportunity gap for those most in need should be a top priority."

The survey was conducted to obtain substantive input from a wide range of parents and guardians. The Council also sought to discover why the respondents' children do or do not attend preschool and how many of those whose children do not currently attend preschool would likely enroll their children if high-quality preschool were available and affordable. The survey, authorized by City Council Resolution 31478, was part of a comprehensive outreach strategy to inform the development of the Seattle Preschool Program, which included input from stakeholder workgroups and other feedback from the community.

The findings were based on a live telephone survey of 1,301 of parents/guardians with children in Kindergarten through 3rd grade enrolled in Seattle Public Schools conducted March 4-23, 2014. The margin of error for the overall results is ±2.7 percentage points at a 95% confidence interval. Unlike most surveys of only 400 or so residents surveyed in English, this preschool survey surveyed three times that number and conducted interviews in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Somali and Cantonese. Nearly one-third (32%) of the respondents were born outside of the United States.

The complete poll results are available here.

[View in Council Newsroom]

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May 19, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Burgess, News Releases

Mayor Murray and Council President Tim Burgess announce Seattle Preschool Program

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City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 5/15/2014

Mayor Murray and Council President Tim Burgess announce Seattle Preschool Program

SEATTLE (May 15, 2014) - Seattle Mayor Ed Murray was joined by Seattle City Council President Tim Burgess and members of the education community this morning to announce their proposal for expanding access to high-quality early learning throughout the city.

"At a time when disparities in education reinforce the widening gap between those who fill the high-wage jobs of the future and those who struggle to make ends meet, one of the most important questions we face as a society is: what can we do to build a school system that works equally and fairly for all of our children," said Murray. "The answer starts long before our children show up for their first day of kindergarten."

"High quality preschool is proven to be a game-changer that prepares our children for success in school and in life. Preschool will boost not only the children but also our city with a stronger workforce and safer neighborhoods," said Burgess. "The evidence already shows us what to do; we just need to muster the will to do it."

The proposed Action Plan calls for a four-year property tax levy, raising $14.5 million annually to fund a demonstration program to begin closing the preparedness gap for Seattle's three and four year olds. The cost to the average homeowner in Seattle will be $3.63 per month – about the cost of a latte – over the next four years. The Seattle Preschool Program will be voluntary for providers and participants and will build toward serving 2,000 children in 100 classrooms by 2018.

The Action plan is anchored in evidence-based practice, acknowledging that program quality is vital to success and will be provided through a mixed-delivery system, with classrooms offered by Seattle Public Schools and community providers. The program will have the ultimate goal of serving all eligible and interested 4-year olds and all 3-year olds from families making less than 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level in Seattle. Tuition will be free for children from families earning less than the 200 percent of the federal poverty level, while tuition for families earning more than 200 percent of the federal poverty level will be offered on a sliding schedule with some level of subsidy for all families.

"High-quality preschool for all children will change life outcomes for our youngest learners," said Jose Banda, Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools. "We all want each of our kindergartners to walk through the door on the first day of school – bright eyed, backpacks on – with the confidence that they are ready for school. We look forward to working together in a meaningful partnership with the City of Seattle to create the implementation plan that will change the trajectory of our children's lives."

"We at the state level are so happy that the City of Seattle is prioritizing its youngest learners," said Washington state Department of Early Learning Director Bette Hyde. "What is particularly exciting about Seattle's preschool initiative is that it aligns with the statewide system of high-quality early learning we are building. By using the same definition of quality, we are all measuring and encouraging high-quality programs in a consistent way. This is good for kids, families and early learning professionals."

"The foundation of a strong middle class, a thriving economy, a prepared military and a well-educated workforce depend on our youngest learners getting a strong start in life," said Representative Ruth Kagi, D-Seattle. "Research tells us that universal, high-quality preschool puts our youth on a path to success. I look forward to working with my colleagues here in the city of Seattle and the state legislature to increase the quality of early learning, and expand its availability and affordability to all our children."

The Seattle Preschool Program proposal is built on the high-quality parameters of the BERK recommendations (attachments can be found here and the outreach summary report can be found here), as well as the work of the City Council.

The Seattle City Council has studied voluntary pre-school programs since June 2013 and in September 2013, unanimously adopted Resolution 31478, which establishes the City Council's goal of making voluntary high-quality preschool available and affordable to all of Seattle's children and outlining an initial plan toward achieving this goal.

Seattle City Council Select Committee on Preschool will review the Action Plan and take action to place the proposal on the November General Election ballot by August 5.

-MoS-

[View in Council Newsroom]

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May 19, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Licata, Councilmember Sawant, News Releases

Councilmembers Licata, Sawant Announce Proposal to Maintain Metro

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City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 5/19/2014

Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Kshama Sawant

Councilmembers Licata, Sawant Announce Proposal to Maintain Metro

SEATTLE - Councilmember Nick Licata and Councilmember Kshama Sawant and individuals representing working people, elderly, disabled, students, and people of color announced their plan today to address proposed cuts to Seattle Metro bus service. The proposed plan would use a Commercial Parking Tax increase and an Employer Head Tax to prevent devastating cuts to transit.

With the failure of Proposition 1 on April 22, King County Metro will implement the first of four planned rounds of bus service cuts. If all of these cuts happen, 16% of bus service, or 550,000 annual service hours, will disappear.

"If approved by Council, the Mayor’s proposal will go to the ballot in November, but not in time to prevent the first round of cuts. These initial cuts, and the funding that would kick in if ‘Plan C’ were approved, places a burden on poor and working people," said Licata. "There are other options, and they are options that don’t expose our most vulnerable populations to more regressive taxation. The City Council has the ability to implement an Employer’s Head Tax and increase the commercial parking tax to fund public transportation," Licata added. "If the City Council moves on this, we can prevent devastating cuts. I have asked our policy staff to research exactly how much revenue could be raised through these means, and to begin drafting legislation to introduce to the City Council."

During the past 25 years, Metro has increased its reliance on regressive taxation five times through raising the sales tax and Vehicle Licensing Fees. In addition, fares have also been raised four times in the past six years, with another proposed increase in 2015. Sales tax has proven to be an unstable revenue source: the dot-com crash in 2001 reduced sales tax revenue and forced Metro to scale back plans to increase service, and in 2009 Metro lost more than 15% of its sales tax base due to the recession.

"A functioning transportation system is critical to the working people who make Seattle and the wider region run. The ongoing cuts to Metro disproportionately affect low-wage workers, the elderly, the disabled, and people of color," said Sawant. "As a regular bus rider, I stand with all the commuters in King County who are opposed to the looming cuts to these services. I am also in solidarity with Metro workers who are threatened with layoffs and a proposed wage freeze. Seattle’s poor and working people not only need the service to be maintained, they need a world-class mass transit system for this city to remain livable for them," Sawant added.

"I support the most equitable and least burdensome revenue source(s) on lower income users when considering the critical funding for our Metro bus system," said Rev. Paul Benz, Faith Action Network.

"Working people should refuse to accept that increasingly regressive taxation is the best we can do," said Philip Locker, Social Alternative. "The only reason that no progressive funding options currently exist is because there is a lack of political will at the state, county and city level. Local elected officials have an obligation to fight to stop regressive taxation and to implement policies such as taxing big business and the super-wealthy, ending direct and indirect subsidies to large real estate developers, capping excessive government executive salaries, and ending corporate handouts to generate the revenue necessary to fully fund and expand mass transit."

"With the findings recently published in the Third National Climate Assessment, it is clear that the US is already experiencing serious effects of climate change. The City of Seattle has the responsibility to act decisively to reduce our carbon impact on the environment," said Jess Spear, 15 Now. "Maintaining and expanding public transportation has proven to be an effective strategy for reducing emissions and combating climate change."

"We must organize and build our forces until we can wage an effective fight for new public transit funding and progressive taxation in Olympia," said Katie Wilson, Transit Riders Union. "Until then we will continue to be driven by the logic of artificial scarcity, cornered into the false choices of austerity: Service cuts or regressive taxes?"

[View in Council Newsroom]