Gov. Jay Inslee has been a supporter of Initiative 1433 from the start: He helped Raise Up Washington collect the necessary signatures to put the initiative on the general election ballot.
“There is a simple fact – you cannot live on $9.47 an hour anywhere in Washington,” Inslee said in a phone interview with the Yakima Herald-Republic.
Inslee claimed that resistance by Republicans to proposed minimum wage bills in Olympia has made the passage of I-1433 necessary.
Those who oppose I-1433 argue those bills did not get support because they lacked key provisions, such as a lower teenage or training wage.
Inslee said the favorable polls for the initiative is reflective of public support for a higher minimum wage.
He feels workers are tired of being more productive with little to show for it in the form of wage increases.
“We got to restore some economic justice, so when people produce more an hour they earn more an hour,” he said.
Republican challenger Bill Bryant does not support the initiative because it does not take into account the lower cost-of-living outside of the Seattle area.
“In some of these communities you got higher unemployment and not a higher cost of living,” he said. “You’ll end up with smaller businesses who have to cut people’s hours, cut a position or cut benefits.”
Bryant said he supports similar legislation to what was passed in Oregon, which has differing wages for different parts of the state, with the Portland area having the highest wage.
Supporters of I-1433 argue that $13.50 is the amount needed for even counties with the lowest cost of living and that it wouldn’t affect other counties or cities ability to raise the wage higher.
Bryant said there needs to be more time to identify the cost of living for different regions to determine the appropriate wage for them. He said if the initiative does not pass and he is elected, he will look into this issue.
