Everett minimum wage initiative submits signatures to get on ballot

EVERETT — Organizers on Thursday submitted 1,500 signatures to get their initiative to raise Everett minimum wage on the November ballot.

Volunteers from the Everett Deserves a Raise group gathered at City Hall on Thursday afternoon to submit the signatures.

“We have been out as much as possible for as long as possible. Pouring rain, sweltering heat, whatever the conditions,” volunteer Skyler Clary said. “We’ve been there working hard and it feels really good to finally make it past that finish line.”

The initiative would raise the minimum wage for workers at large businesses from $16.28 to $20.24, further adjust wages based on inflation and require businesses to offer existing employees more hours before hiring new employees.

If approved by voters, the ballot measure would take effect July 1, 2025, for businesses with 500 or more employees, and would be phased in over two years for businesses with 15 to 500 employees. The measure would not affect businesses with fewer than 15 employees that make $2 million or less in annual gross revenue.

Thursday’s event comes as another group, Raise the Wage Responsibly, introduced another minimum wage petition last month. It shares similar language with Everett Deserves a Raise, but with a few key differences. Primarily, it factors tips into wages.

“The employer should be paying the employees, not forcing the employees to beg for money from their customers,” Clary said. “Tips are and should be a gratuity, a bonus for good work.”

The Washington Hospitality Association, a group representing over 6,000 members of the restaurant and hotel industry, is leading the charge for the other campaign. Raise the Wage Responsibly didn’t respond to requests for comment Thursday.

Raise the Wage Responsibly has raised over $38,000, according to campaign filings. It has paid a Florida political consulting firm $8,000 to gather signatures for its dueling initiative.

Other than the hospitality association, only Everett’s Scuttlebutt Brewing has contributed a sizable amount to the campaign, chipping in $1,000, according to state Public Disclosure Commission filings. No donation reports are available for Everett Deserves a Raise.

Raise the Wage Responsibly would require employees to complain to the state Department of Labor and Industries before filing a lawsuit and consider franchises independent businesses.

“It just waters everything down and tries to take away the punch that we’re trying to pack,” said Shaina Langley, a volunteer for Everett Deserves a Raise.

Everett’s current minimum wage matches the state minimum wage. Meanwhile, cost of living is higher in Everett than many other cities. For a dual-income family of four, living wage is $33.42 in Snohomish County and $28.93 in Olympia, according to MIT data.

“There are other communities nearby that have a significantly higher minimum wage,” Clary said. “All of our good workers here in Everett are incentivized to work not in Everett with the current minimum wage system.”

The Everett Deserves a Raise initiative follows a similar one voters passed in Renton earlier this year.

After county auditors review the signatures, the measure will either get City Council approval or put on the ballots for voters in November.

“People have the power to do democratically-led initiatives by themselves to show their political will,” volunteer Michael Berryhill said. “They have to be motivated and drive the power for themselves.”

Connor Zamora: 425-339-3037; connor.zamora@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @cgzamora02.