In Burien’s February 11 special election, voters should back the minimum wage hike offered with Measure 1.
Burien residents should vote for Measure 1 because it will actually raise pay for low-wage workers, bringing Burien’s minimum wage into alignment with neighboring cities Tukwila, Renton, and Seattle. Leveling wages across South King County will increase local buying power and Burien businesses’ ability to attract talent and customers, helping workers and businesses alike.
Much like the competing minimum wage proposals considered by voters in Everett on the November ballot, the Burien minimum wage measure will be a choice between a true minimum wage and a policy already passed by the council that penalizes tipped workers. (Labor groups recently beat back a similar tip-penalty proposal in Seattle.) The council’s ordinance has allowed them to claim raising minimum wage as an accomplishment while, in reality, very few workers in Burien will see a meaningful increase in take home pay.
In October 2024, Burien’s council passed Ordinance 855 to grant workers a $4.50 increase over state minimum wage, but did so only for employers with 500 or more full-time employees in King County. The minimum wage at employers with between 20 and 499 full-time employees would increase by $3.50 over the state minimum, and employers with fewer than 20 full-time employees would be completely exempt.
Ordinance 855 also permits employers to apply tips and employer-provided healthcare costs to the requirements beyond the state minimum wage, meaning employees already receiving $4.50 an hour in tips will not see an increase to their take-home pay.
Tying the employer tiers to full time employees in King County (rather than nationally) and treating franchises as individual businesses will further diminish impact for workers even at major fast food chains and make it more difficult for employees and employers to understand what wage applies. With several recent high-profile wage theft lawsuits, Burien workers and businesses both deserve a law that’s easy to understand and comply with.
Further muddying the waters is the city’s communication around the measure, which has already been amended twice before going into effect, (once to increase the originally passed $3 increase and again to correct a material error.) Burien’s city manager has gone so far as to file a complaint to the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) against a citizen simply for giving public comment in favor of the initiative. (The PDC summarily dismissed the claim.)
The City’s attempts to control the narrative have veered at times into outright obfuscation. Mailers sent by the city to every Burien resident celebrating the approval of what is described as “[The] Nation’s Highest Minimum Wage” make no mention of the tip or health care penalties. The City also paid for a sponsored post touting the wage law in the popular B-Town Blog. The City’s website describing the new wage law makes no mention of these details (they can be found only in a separate FAQ document.) This may leave many workers disappointed if they expect a raise on January 1 when the new law goes into effect.
In answer to the Burien City Council’s efforts to minimize the benefits to workers, a more comprehensive minimum wage initiative gathered more than the required 4,420 signatures to qualify for the February special election. It’s clear this approach has much more popular support.
We’re endorsing Measure 1 because it removes the tip and healthcare penalty and makes the minimum wage increase apply to all workers (though small and medium- sized employers will have seven-year and three-year phase-in periods.) This will allow more workers to see a bigger increase in their take home pay than the council’s version and the more standardized definition of business size will be easier for both employers and workers to understand and ensure compliance. Vote yes on Measure 1.
The Urbanist Elections Committee consists of Angela Compton, Kacie Masten, Ryan Packer, Maya Ramakrishnan, Hannah Sabio-Howell, Jazmine Smith, Doug Trumm, Kelsey Vanhee, and Anita Yandle.
