Sea-Tac Airport workers join nationwide minimum wage protest

Workers at Sea-Tac Airport protested on Tuesday in solidarity with a national push for all airport workers to get a $15 minimum wage.

Sea-Tac Baggage handler Alex Hoopes says he thinks everyone should have the same benefits he does.

“We’ve got to stand together … and stay strong and make our communities better — make it better for me and others around the country,” he said.

Hoopes says they are working for union representation and bringing light to those who get reprimanded for using their sick leave.

Reports say thousands of workers walked off the job at airports as well as businesses, such as fast-food restaurants, in more than 300 cities.

Critics: Local unions avoid worker protections they advocate

The Chicago Sun-Times reports as many as 500 workers at O’Hare walked out or skip their shifts throughout the day.

KIRO Radio reports the afternoon demonstration at the Flag Pavilion on International Boulevard was part of the Fight for $15 movement being organized by labor groups and community organizations that want a federal minimum wage of $15 an hour. The Puget Sound Business Journal reports airport workers were joined by those who work in home and child care.

In 2013, voters passed Proposition 1, which called for a $15 minimum wage and paid sick leave for Sea-Tac workers. Opponents argued that the city’s minimum wage law shouldn’t have been on the ballot. However, after a few years in court, the state Supreme Court denied a motion for emergency review, putting the case to rest.

While workers in Sea-Tac show their support for $15 an hour, low-wage workers elsewhere in the state can expect to earn at least $13.50 an hour by 2020. Initiative 1433, which raises the state’s minimum wage and requires paid sick leave for employees, was approved in November. I-1433 will raise the hourly wage by roughly $4 over three years.

Supporters of I-1433 said giving low-wage workers hundreds in extra monthly pay will boost the state’s economy. Opponents of the measure said raising the wage by nearly half could cost jobs and force businesses to close.

Washington’s current minimum wage is $9.47 an hour. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.

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