Earlier this week, the King County Council passed an ordinance (a “living wage” mandate) that increases the minimum wage for “long-term county employees and the employees working for companies that hold contracts with the county of $100,000 or more.” The ordinance increases the minimum wage to $10 per hour in 2015. Between 2017 and 2021, the ordinance phases in a $15 per hour minimum wage, “based on company size and whether health benefits are offered.” Additionally, by 2025, all direct and indirect employees will receive a minimum wage of $18.13 per hour regardless of size.
According to the Washington Policy Center, “the increased wage mandate comes at the same time King County is proposing to cut more than 500 full-time county jobs as part of an effort to reduce the County’s 2015-2016 budget deficit.” The expected job cuts would be “”the largest workforce reduction in County history,” according to the County.
That’s a lot of people who won’t be earning any wage… no less a “living wage.”
