Puget Sound rallies push for higher wage

OLYMPIA – Demonstrators supporting a $15 per hour minimum wage for low-income workers such as fast-food employees have staged rallies at several spots around the Puget Sound region and sat in on a legislative hearing in Olympia.

The Olympian reported that demonstrators gathered Thursday at restaurants in Aberdeen, Bellevue and Kent.

Working Washington spokesman Sage Wilson said people working in fast food, home care and retail can’t earn enough money for their needs on the state’s current minimum wage of $9.32 an hour.

In Olympia, the state House Labor and Workforce Development Committee heard presentations on the state of the minimum wage. Supporters of a higher wage rolled out slides showing how wages had remained flat and costs had risen.

David Burroughs is vice chairman of Cascade Designs, a Seattle-based company that makes outdoor gear. He told lawmakers that lower trade barriers with other countries have forced his company to compete with lower-wage workers around the world.

Elsewhere, Oregon’s largest county has adopted a $15 minimum wage for its employees.

The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners approved the wage hike on Thursday. It will be phased in over the next three years.