Tukwila residents overwhelmingly voted in last month’s election to raise the city’s minimum wage in the new year — and now teachers’ unions in neighboring cities are calling for the same move in their communities.
The Renton, Kent, Federal Way, Highline, Auburn, and Tukwila Education Associations wrote a recent column in the South Seattle Emerald advocating for a higher minimum wage in their communities.
Tukwila’s minimum wage will go up to about $19 per hour at workplaces that employ 500 or more employees worldwide. Employers with between 15 and 500 workers will have a phased-in approach over the next few years. The smallest employers — those with fewer than 15 employees — will be exempt.
The current statewide minimum wage is $14.49 per hour; it will go up to $15.74 per hour at the start of the new year.
The teachers say that their work uniquely qualifies them to speak with expertise on this topic, because they get a direct look at what poverty looks like on a daily basis in their classrooms.
“I was talking to an educator who was actually running to the store over their lunch break to buy shoes, because one of their students showed up with only one shoe on,” said Federal Way Education Association President Shannon McCann.
She noted that about 1,300 students in the Federal Way School District are experiencing homelessness. That adds up to about 6% of students in the district.
“We have many schools that are upwards of 80% [of students on] free and reduced lunch, which is...
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has denied claims that it is selling scrap materials from its refineries, warning the public to disregard such information and remain alert to fraud...