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<< Previous   of   Next >> Mark Mulligan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Amber Wooton, 22, places candles in preparation for New Year's Eve dinner at Luca's Restaurant in Lake Stevens on Wednesday. Wooton, who is paying her way through school at Everett Community College, will benefit from an increase in the minimum wage.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, January 1, 2009 State's minimum wage increases 48 cents today By Kaitlin Manry Herald Writer Toni Hartse dashed around the Volunteers of America Food Bank in Everett on Wednesday. For every hour she talked to customers and directed them through the line, she earned $8.07. Today she and tens of thousands of Washingtonians get a raise to $8.55. The state's minimum wage is going up 48 cents and Washington will continue to have the highest minimum wage in the nation. Hartse, 29, is looking forward to the extra income. "I don't have any extra money to spend; I have an 8-month-old daughter," she said. "Honestly, a week and a half into the month, I'm broke. So maybe it'll get me through two weeks. ... Every little penny helps." There were the equivalent of around 60,000 full-time minimum wage jobs in Washington in 2007. They accounted for 2.5 percent of the state's work force, according to Elaine Fischer, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Labor & Industries. The state's minimum wage towers over the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour. That's because voters passed an initiative in 1998 tying the minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index, a measurement of changes in retail prices nationwide. Oregon has a similar law that will raise the minimum wage there to $8.40 an hour -- the second highest in the nation. In Snohomish County, the increase in the minimum wage should help the economy overall, by allowing low-wage workers to continue buying the same products and services, said Donna Thompson, a regional labor economist based in Snohomish County. "What it does for the lowest level of wage earners is it helps keep them at the same level they were before," she said. "If they were just barely making it -- and a lot of them are -- they'll still just be barely making it. If we didn't have that increase, it might mean more home foreclosures. It might mean a lot of things." To business owners, the boost in minimum wage can be a big burden. Luca Nasti, owner of Luca's Ristorante & Pizzeria in Lake Stevens, has been thinking of expanding his business, but with the economy down and the increase in minimum wage, he's shelved those plans. He believes Washington should have a provision, like many states do, that allows restaurants to pay waiters less than the minimum wage, as long as their tips make up the difference. He said his waitresses often take home $25 to $30 an hour between the minimum wage and tips. He earned minimum wage busing tables when he first moved to the U.S. from Naples, Italy, 14 years ago. He says he pays everyone on his staff, except dishwashers and waitresses, more than the minimum wage. "For me, the minimum wage is more for the young kids who are going for their first jobs and learning how to earn a dollar," he said. "It's a start. ... Come on. Why do they need that much money?" Waitress Amber Wooton said she takes home $100 in tips alone during a good five hour shift at Luca's. Wooton, 22, lives with her parents and said she uses her money to pay tuition at Everett Community College. She's excited for the boost in minimum wage. "I think it's great," she said, setting candles on restaurant tables Wednesday afternoon. "This is my main job, but I understand it's not very good for small business owners. But we work hard. So as long as the employees are working hard for it, then it's OK." A 2006 Washington State University study found that the increase in minimum wage has a mostly positive impact on the state economy. The increase leads some businesses to cut jobs, but the remaining bottom level workers are better off. At Lanna Thai in Everett, a major downturn in business has already led management to slash employee hours, said manager Paul Lim. He fears that the increase in minimum wage will lead to even more cuts. He used to spend lots of time doing paperwork, but recently he's been answering the phone and waiting tables on top of his other duties. He said he works six days a week. "If (minimum wage) increases, I might have to work every day," he said. "We need to survive." At El Puerto Mexican restaurant in Everett, many workers earned $8.50 an hour in 2008 rather than the old minimum wage. Manager Giselle Zapata-Garcia said she's in favor of the increase in minimum wage. "I think it's good because I believe that people making minimum wage need to be making a little bit more to survive in this world," she said. Most minimum-wage employees in Washington work in restaurants, for retailers or in agriculture, Fischer said. One-third of the state's minimum wage jobs are in fast food restaurants. State law allows employers to pay 14- and 15-year-olds 85 percent of the adult minimum wage, or $7.27 an hour. A state survey in 2002 found that 60 percent of minimum wage workers were at least 21 years old. At 62 years old, Everett resident Suzanne Brown is earning minimum wage for the first time in her life. She said she earned a bachelor's degree and has worked as a substitute teacher and as a lab technologist, but with the tough economy she's grateful for her job helping customers at the Volunteers of America Food Bank in Everett. The AARP is paying her salary through job-training program aimed at helping seniors find work. She said the boost in minimum wage will enable her to take care of some necessities, and maybe pay to visit a museum or see a concert in Seattle. "I have a dog," she said. "He needs care at the vet I haven't been able to afford. Right now, I'm driving around on a spare tire in the snow. I couldn't come here a lot because of that. Until I get paid, I won't be able to afford having the tire fixed." Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com.

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