Group heading minimum wage push in Tukwila says it has enough signatures to get on ballot

A group campaigning to raise the minimum wage in the city of Tukwila says it has the signatures required to qualify for the November ballot and plans to submit its petition to the city clerk next week, according to a news release.

The Raise the Wage Tukwila coalition plans to submit more than 2,500 signatures to the Tukwila city clerk on Monday, June 13, in support of raising the city’s minimum wage.

Currently, Tukwila’s minimum wage of $14.49 an hour “lags behind” that of neighboring cities SeaTac ($17.54) and Seattle ($17.27), according to the news release.

“Tukwila is home to thousands of low-wage retail and food service jobs at and around the Southcenter Mall, as well as many more jobs in warehousing, manufacturing, transportation, and serving the airport,” the coalition said. “Rapidly rising rents and prices of groceries, gas and other basics are making life hard for the lowest-paid workers. A family supported by a full-time Tukwila worker making the minimum wage must spend over 60% of their income just to rent a modest one-bedroom apartment in King County.”

As part of its proposal, Raise the Wage Tukwila asks for large employers with over 500 employees worldwide to match SeaTac’s minimum wage in July 2023. After that, there would be a cost-of-living adjustment each year.

For other employers, the higher minimum wage would phase in over three years — in July 2023, the minimum wage rises to the rate for large employers minus $2. In July 2024, it would rise to the rate for large employers minus $1. In July 2025, it would rise to match the rate for large employers.

The smallest employers — those with fewer than 15 employees and less than $2 million in annual revenue — would be exempt.

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