Seattle mayor explains why he endorsed fast food workers strike
May 31, 2013, 10:34 AM | Updated: Jun 4, 2013, 1:30 pm
Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn voiced his approval for their cause. Dave Ross asks him why. (AP Photo/file)
(AP Photo/file)
A fast food strike this week in Seattle closed a number of area restaurants. The workers were calling for a wage increase to $15 an hour, and Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn voiced his approval for their cause.
In an appearance on KIRO Radio’s Ross and Burbank Show, the mayor explained his thinking.
“They’re just expressing themselves about wages. The fact of the matter is they don’t make very much. Their hours are intentionally kept below a minimum number of hours that might qualify them for other benefits, and for many workers, it’s not just a transition job anymore,” said McGinn.
The mayor said the rest of us pay the costs when people around us don’t have health care and can’t earn a living wage.
Listen to the full conversation with the mayor. You’ll also hear about the low-wage job he worked during summers in college; it involved toilets.
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Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.
