Speakers at the Washington State Labor Council’s (WSLC) 2015 convention in SeaTac included Democrat state Attorney General Bob Ferguson. During his speech, Ferguson stated his and—by extent—his office’s support of the $15 minimum wage. Ferguson said,
“We are also making important progress on something of great importance… What happened right after we has those great [$15 minimum wage] successes? Lawsuits were filed challenging the legality of those $15 minimum wages. And the issue of the SeaTac minimum wage is already up before the state Supreme Court.
“My office, again, joined in support of the at $15 minimum wage. I put my top lawyers on the case. We filed a brief with the state Supreme Court. We’re waiting for a decision, but I’m optimistic that the $15 minimum wage will be upheld by our court. We will continue to fight the fight.”
The case Ferguson is referring to will decide whether or not the $15 minimum wage law in SeaTac applies to airport workers. Businesses and the Port of Seattle have argued that SeaTac Airport is run according to state and federal law, not local ordinances, and therefore is not subject to the $15 minimum wage law.
A King County Superior Court judge has already ruled that the law does not apply to the airport because the Port of Seattle, not the city of SeaTac, controls it. The case was appealed to the state Supreme Court. Ferguson’s brief asks the court to “reverse the lower court’s decision and declare the SeaTac wage ordinance applicable to the airport.”
The state Supreme Court has yet to issue its decision. You can check out Ferguson’s comments here.
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