Dori Monson’s proposal for workers who want $15 an hour in Seattle

May 1, 2014, 1:14 PM | Updated: 2:33 pm

Taken from Thursday’s edition of The Dori Monson Show.

The City of Seattle has now announced a plan to have the highest minimum wage of any major city in the country.

Ed Murray announced a $15 an hour minimum wage plan to be phased in. Here is Murray detailing how it is all going to be rolled out:

“Here are the details of the framework: Small businesses are defined as businesses with fewer than 500 employees. For them, the minimum wage will raise over a 7-year period to $15. Within the first five years, $15 will be reached through a combination of health care, tips and wages. That piece will phase out over a longer period of time.

Large businesses are defined as businesses with greater than 500 employees, either here or nationally. Wages must reach $15 within three years. The wages of employees who receive health care will reach $15 an hour in four years.

Once $15 is reached, future increases will be tied to the consumer price index. No industry, organization or class of employees is exempt from any provision of this deal except where restricted by federal or state law. This is a historic moment for Seattle. It is setting a standard for what progressives and what a progressive city can do, what we can do to change the middle class.”

Socialist City Councilmember Kshama Sawant is sideways at the fact that they’re going to include health care and tips as part of the $15 an hour for small businesses over the next few years.

“The proposal that has been announced is a result of the pressure from this movement. Unfortunately, it also reflects the attempt of business to water-down what the working people of Seattle want. While business has lost the public battle on $15, they got a seat at the table to get their wish list while low-wage workers were left out,” said Sawant.

So the businesses that have to pay the $15 an hour didn’t deserve a seat at the table in the conversation? The business owners that provide the tax dollars, that provide the economic engine, that provide the jobs, they shouldn’t have had a seat at the table in the conversation?

“That is why our work is far from done,” Sawant said. “The most important task now is to build our movement 15 Now in order to put pressure on City Council.”

“The proposal I support is the proposal labor and I brought to the committee and which was never voted on,” said Sawant. “Labor members and I put forward the proposal that had no phase-in for big business, a three-year phase in for small businesses and nonprofit human service providers, had no tip credit, no health care credit and would be far stronger in the interest of workers in poverty. That proposal was not voted on, even though workers in Seattle overwhelmingly supported it.”

But of course, workers overwhelmingly support it because they want more. They want something for nothing, but you have to at least care a little bit about the business owners and the job creators and the people who have put their life blood into creating a business.

Sawant continued:

“I support any proposal to increase the living standards of the working people of the city, but a super-majority of those same working people have already said that they want a strong measure on 15.”

Wait. She supports any proposal to increase the living standards of workers? Well I have a proposal, so I know Kshama is going to support mine then.

Here’s my proposal to those workers:

Acquire the job skills that make you desirable to a company where the benefit you provide the company is more than $15 an hour, so you can justify getting paid that.

Stand on your own two feet instead of using the tyranny of government to tell business owners how much their employees are worth to them.

That’s my proposal to workers, and Kshama Sawant supports it because she would support any proposal.

Taken from Thursday’s edition of The Dori Monson Show.