Despite the objections of powerful Alaska Airlines and other local employers, the SeaTac City Council voted unanimously last night to send the Good Jobs Initiative to the November ballot. Petitioners had gathered over 2,500 signatures on the initiative that would mandate employment standards within the transportation, hospitality, and tourism industry, including paid sick leave and a $15 an hour minimum wage.
Alaska Airlines and the Washington Restaurant Association had recently lost a court challenge seeking to block the initiative from the ballot.
Aside from bringing Sea-Tac Airport wages and benefits in line with those at other major West Coast airports, the Good Jobs Initiative is also a very clever use of the local initiative process—after years of negotiating, picketing, lobbying, and organizing with little result, low-paid Sea-Tac Airport contract workers are taking their complaints directly to local voters. It’s a novel tactic that could have far reaching consequences; if the initiative wins at the ballot box and survives the inevitable court challenge, expect to see a minimum wage measure pop up in Seattle.