WASHINGTON, DC –(ENEWSPF)–May 1, 2014. After Mayor Ed Murray announced an agreement to lift the minimum wage in Seattle to $15 per hour, Mary Kay Henry, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), issued the following statement:
“The members of SEIU are thrilled that working people in Seattle have won a landmark victory in their campaign to lift the wage floor in their city and launch an innovative community-based method for making sure workers are paid what they earn.
“This breakthrough happened because ordinary people in Seattle stuck together to force their elected officials and the employer community to listen to them and take them seriously when they called for higher wages that boost the economy instead of hold it back. Their action led to a remarkable dialogue among workers, local government leaders, and local businesses that produced the agreement.
“This happened because of brave people like Crystal Thompson, a Domino’s Pizza worker who went on strike with other Seattle fast food workers to help build the growing national movement to lift pay in the booming fast food industry.
“This happened because of people like Abdirahman Abdullahi, a car rental worker at SeaTac airport who helped lead the campaign to hold a vote in the community of SeaTac to boost wages for airport workers to $15 per hour.
“SEIU members like Washington’s home care workers, who have stuck together in their union to raise their pay from $7.18 to $11 in less than ten years, were among those who stood with airport and fast food workers who aren’t united in a union to say that low wages are holding back their community.
“Through the Working Washington coalition, people across the state stood up to say that it’s simply wrong that so many families can’t count on real economic security, no matter how hard they work.
“The new $15 per hour wage floor across Seattle will put hundreds of millions dollars into the pockets of working-class families that they will invest back into their neighborhoods and strengthen their entire economy.
“Today we celebrate a huge step forward in Seattle. Tomorrow, SEIU members will continue to link arms with fellow Americans across the country as we fight together for a rising America rooted in an economy that works for all of us, not just the richest at the top.”
Source: seiu.org
