Burien battles over minimum wage
A battle in Burien – over minimum wage.
The city just filed a lawsuit claiming that a ballot measure, approved less than three weeks ago by voters, is unconstitutional.
At the start of the year, the city's new minimum wage law kicked in at $21.16 an hour for businesses with more than 20 employees.
Measure 1, passed earlier this month, would put Burien's minimum wage at $21.10 an hour, regardless of business size, to match with the City of Tukwila.
The city referred KIRO 7 to a statement on the city's website, reading in part,
'Understanding that Burien residents, employees, and employers require absolute clarity on Burien's minimum wage law, Burien has asked the superior court to provide guidance. Burien will continue to inform its community about these proceedings.'
Katie Wilson with the Transit Riders Union, a group that helped lead the charge for Measure 1, says the lawsuit does not have any merit.
'The city has been trying to mess with the citizen's initiative, really, since the beginning, so we're not surprised that this lawsuit is here but we're confident that we'll prevail,' said Wilson.
David Meinert owns Huckleberry Square, a family restaurant with 42 employees.
'I'm all for raising the minimum wage, but most democratic cities in the country that have a high minimum wage also have a tip credit, and Initiative 1 did away with Burien's tip credit – actually lowered the minimum wage for a lot of people and then did away with the tip credit,' said Meinert.
He says Measure 1 will force businesses to make unwanted changes.
'We're already planning on raising prices substantially and cutting staff, for sure,' said Meinert.
The initiative is set to take effect at the end of March.
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