Where Policymakers Fail, the People Prevail
Excerpt from an OpEd in Real Change News By Maria Abando and Guillermo Zazueta | February 7, 2024
As a couple of Black and Brown organizers in Seattle and South King County, we’ve learned a lot over the years about how to make change in our communities. At this moment, we’re fighting to raise the minimum wage in Renton, and we’re almost there! We want to provide some insight into what happens when working people decide we have the power to uplift our communities beyond what policymakers provide.
WHO ARE WE AND WHAT ARE WE DOING?
While working together on Stephanie Gallardo’s campaign for Congress in 2022, we linked up with the Transit Riders Union (TRU) on its campaign to raise the minimum wage in Tukwila, knocking doors and talking to voters. When the initiative passed with 82% of the vote, we pivoted toward Renton. Currently, Renton’s minimum wage remains at the statewide minimum of $16.28 an hour, while the rates in the neighboring cities of Seatac, Seattle and Tukwila hover around $20 an hour. In January 2023, we joined forces with former Gallardo volunteers, the Renton Education Association (REA), TRU and the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) to build a broad coalition of labor unions, local businesses, elected officials and Renton residents to draft an ordinance to raise the minimum wage. After 12 months of campaigning, Initiative Measure 23-02 qualified for Renton’s Feb. 13 special election.
This measure would raise Renton’s minimum wage to $20.29 starting in July 2024 for large employers and $18.29 for small-to-medium businesses, with a two year phase-in period. The smallest businesses — those with fewer than 15 employees — are entirely exempt. Initiative Measure 23-02 also includes inflation adjustments, secures additional hours for part-time employees and prohibits employer retaliation.
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
This initiative will raise wages for over 22,000 low-wage workers in Renton. Additionally, it will help retain some of the 45,000 residents who commute daily out of Renton to chase higher wages. Not only do low wages cause people to spend time and money outside of their own cities, but they also contribute to our region’s backed-up highways. Additionally, wages aren’t keeping pace with the cost of living — especially rising housing costs. With current pay rates, a person with a full-time, minimum wage job in Renton must work 77 hours per week to afford a one-bedroom apartment. When working families don’t earn ample income, they struggle to pay for basic necessities like health care, child care and groceries. According to the latest census, low-income households make up 44% of total households in Renton. This issue disproportionately affects people of color, with 57% of Black households and 63% of Hispanic households in Renton qualifying as low-income.
While some will argue the money isn’t there to raise wages and that consumers will absorb these costs, the numbers tell a different story. In 2022, shareholder profits across the country hit record numbers of $923 billion in stock buybacks and $546 billion in shareholder dividends. The money is there; it’s just being held hostage by the wealthy few. Something needs to change to make sure Rentonites can afford to not only live, but thrive.
We detail our journey to Raise the Minimum Wage in the remainder of the article, which you can read here: https://www.realchangenews.org/news/2024/02/07/black-and-brown-organizers-are-raising-minimum-wage-renton
