REPOSTED: "Raise the Wage" Big-Money Initiative Threatens to Override Burien‘s New Minimum Wage Ordinance; Claims to be "Grassroots"

$70,000 from progressive unions and powerful outside groups jeopardize Burien's local economic control. No wage increase exemption for Small Businesses.

[ORIGINAL BURIEN.NEWS PUBLICATION DATE 7/11/24]

In March 2024, Burien City Council created a carefully crafted new minimum wage ordinance. The council took a year to gather critical input from small businesses, unions, and the community. After many long discussions, the council voted to create a moderate ordinance that would support both employees and employers. Similar to SeaTac and Tukwila, Burien exempted small "mom & pop" businesses from this increase. Ordinance No. 837 will go into effect on January 1, 2025.

However, this spring, an outside group of progressive organizers partnering with and working through Transit Riders Union (TRU), who have already collected over $70,000 from Outside-of-Burien donors, created an initiative called Raise the Wage Burien (RTWB). They hope to have enough signatures to add the initiative to the November 2024 ballot.

Currently there are many aggressive, paid signature gatherers in Burien who cannot answer legitimate questions about the "Raise the Wage" initiative. That is, they do not know details about what they are promoting, and if they do, they are not sharing it. [FULL ORDINANCE PROPOSAL]

"Not Keeping Pace..."

The group says Burien isn't "keeping pace with nearby cities, or with the cost of living – especially rising housing costs."  But Burien is not like nearby cities SeaTac who benefits from the Port/Airport income and Tukwila, who benefits from Southcenter Mall tax income. Burien comprises mostly smaller, independent establishments, so the economic dynamics are strikingly different.

Small Businesses are not Exempt

The ordinance proposed for Burien by the RTWB initiative DOES NOT EXEMPT small businesses from the wage increase. Raise the Wage in SeaTac and Tukwila allows for Exemptions, which is not obvious until taking a much deeper dive into the initiative verbiage.

RTWB does not mention Burien's Ordinance

RTWB signature gatherers neglect to mention that Burien's new wage increase ordinance even exists, or that it will go into effect on January 1, 2025.

"Everyone Benefits?"

RTWB's website claims "When workers earn a living wage, everyone benefits."  This is also untrue. Small businesses stand to lose, and recent studies have shown that employees actually lose net income and benefits when the minimum wage increases.

Loss of Local Control

The Burien Council, that is working diligently to improve and grow its fragile economic ecosystem, would lose its local control.

Who Stands to Gain?

Currently the outside funding has exceeded $70,000 and only five people have contributed $1,100 total from the city of Burien. This gives a hint at "who stands to gain?"

The following is a list of 2016* donors who contributed $500 or more to the Transit Riders Union:

(*2016 is the most recent data available)

• Resist Foundation
• MLK County Labor Council
• Teamsters Local 117
• UFCW 21
• UAW Local 4121
• SEIU WA State Council
• SEIU Healthcare 1199NW
• SEIU Local 6
• SEIU 775

Look at the PDC.wa.gov site for who is funding "Raise the Wage Burien Committee." It’s not Burien residents or businesses.

Questions to Consider:

The Transit Riders Union ordinance that is being proposed to be put on a Burien only ballot in 2024-  involves these issues: [FULL RTWB ORDINANCE PROPOSAL]

1. It makes the false claim that Burien is a like economic/financial city to Seattle, Sea Tac and Tukwila.  Burien is not. Burien is much more financially challenged/fragile and has a very different mix of businesses/employment opportunities. And its budget is broke.
2. Burien is a land development challenged city. It has no land to spread out on because of the airport and its noise.
3. The ordinance that the Transit Riders Union (TRU) has developed and published fails to respect the sovereignty of the City of Burien. It mandates that Burien must adopt the City of Tukwila Municipal Code Section 5.63 directly into Burien Municipal code. The elected Burien City Council and Burien businesses and residents will have no say in their own Municipal Code, should the Transit Riders Union Ordinance pass. Big Brother Tukwila will control that.
4. This ordinance further mandates that the annual inflation rate for Burien will be determined by the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Earners and Clerical Workers when that is unrealistic for Burien.
5. In Section 4 of this TRU ordinance, it mandates that Burien small businesses (less than 15 employees) must also be included in this second raise the wage hike. In Burien, these small businesses are not included in the Council and Community  March, 2024 min. wage hike. In Tukwila , small businesses are not included in their minimum wage hike, but it appears that the Transit Riders Union TRU) wants to punish small family, minority owned businesses in Burien or drive them out of business.
6. The language in Sections 6,7 and 8 reads like it is directly taken from a Labor Unions’ Collective Bargaining contracts. It does not appears to be just a city’s plan to raise the minimum wage. It will require that small and medium size business owners hire additional amounts of staff just to collect the data, run hearings and stay in compliance with this ordinance. Likewise, it will require the City of Burien - at taxpayers’ expense - to add on additional city staff in the  Finance, Economic Development and Legal Department to manage compliance with this ordinance. The ordinance generates no revenues for the city to do this with. 75% of the workers do not live, spend their incomes, or pay city taxes in Burien.
7. Section 9 of this ordinance mandates that Burien must write new sections to its BMC 5.05 to punish anyone who violates this ordinance. Much harsher than Burien currently punishes small business who make mistakes-denying, suspending, denying licenses.
8. There are some critical definitions missing from Section 10.
9. Perhaps the ugliest part of the TRU Ordinance is that it denies Burien the right to develop and write its own municipal code and denies the  Burien Council and  residents the right to have input to it.
10. Putting this ordinance on the ballot for a vote will cost Burien Residents up to $84,000 and up to $3,000+  for the voter’s pamphlet publication.

Final Comments:

This political power play by TRU, other outside Burien organizations, unions and a few disgruntled, extreme leftist Burien residents will cost the city of Burien, its taxpayers, and businesses, between $400,000 and $500,000 just for the first year.

This is not good for Burien. Read, Think, and ask questions before you sign a petition or vote on Raise the Wage Burien. Is this really good for Burien?

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