In this
year’s general election, the outcome of Initiative 1 regarding the status of
the minimum wage in Tacoma has the power to drastically impact businesses
starting as soon as December 4th of this year.
If a raise in the
minimum wage in Initiative 1 are approved by the voters, an unprecedented and
risky minimum wage increase of either $15 or $12 will go into effect just four weeks
following the election.
After
careful consideration, the Chamber has endorsed voting for Initiative 1B, a
plan that will phase in a minimum wage increase to $12 over the course of two
years. This plan allows everyone to adjust to an increase in the minimum wage
in a way that will both benefit workers and will not overwhelm businesses.
While
raising the minimum wage or not should be a straightforward question, the
structure of this year’s ballot has the potential to confuse voters. Initiative
1 is broken into two parts. First,
voters will be asked whether or not a minimum wage increase should take place
at all. Second, voters will be
asked, if a minimum wage increase were to take place, whether they would
support Initiative 1, an increase of the minimum wage to $15 immediately, or
Initiative 1B, an increase of the minimum wage to $12 over two years.
Even if
voters wanted to oppose an increase in the minimum wage altogether and vote no
on the first question and ignore the second question, a minimum wage increase
will still take place if a majority vote “yes” on part one. That is why it is imperative, even if voters
oppose an increase in the minimum wage, they also vote “yes” on 1B to ensure
that the most appropriate increase in minimum wage for Tacoma is enacted.
The Chamber encourages, that whether you vote
“yes” or “no” on raising the minimum wage, vote 1B, the Tacoma sized solution.