On January 1, Washington State’s minimum wage—already the highest in the nation—will rise. The minimum wage will jump from $9.32 to $9.47 per hour as a result of Initiative 688—which voters passed in 1998. I-688 ties the state’s minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index, which rose to 1.59 percent in 2014.
The slight hike in the state minimum wage is, of course, set against the backdrop of Seattle’s new $15 minimum wage. As Shift reported extensively, Seattle passed the absurd $15 minimum wage ordinance early this year.
Advocates of the $15 minimum wage—known as the 15 Now movement—are sure to make a push to extend the unprecedented wage hike to cities across Washington State in 2015. Already, strides have been made to do just that in Olympia and Tacoma.
