Today I saw a socialist city council member attacked from the left. [View all]

[eridani]

Oddly enough, no coverage of the 15 Now! mentioned that a socialist city councio member was attacked from the left. Some wanted no phase in whatsover, and to bar usnions from agreeing to a lower wage in return for higher health care benefits. Lots of useful information at the conference. David Cay Johnson suggested that we not say that we are raising the minimum wage, but that we are restoring it.

Only in Seattle!

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2023469140_wageinitiativexml.html

Signature drive to start for $15-wage vote

An organization urging adoption of a $15-per-hour minimum wage voted Saturday to begin gathering signatures to get a Seattle City Charter amendment on the November ballot, a move it hopes will provide leverage with city officials.

The group, 15 Now, held its first national conference at Franklin High School, with more than 250 people voting on what direction the movement should take.

Members voted to begin gathering a target of 50,000 signatures in support of amending the city’s charter so it would require: big corporations to pay a $15 minimum wage effective Jan. 1, 2015, with no reduction in pay to compensate for tips or benefits; a three-year phase-in for small businesses and nonprofits; and a yearly raise tied to cost-of-living increases.

About 30,000 valid signatures would be needed to get the amendment on the ballot.

The organization plans to file the signatures — thus, triggering a vote — only if city officials fail to pass their own measure that meets with the organization’s approval. The decision of whether to file the signatures will be made at a conference in June.


15 Now's National Conference Is Today

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/04/26/15-nows-national-conference-is-today

But activists are moving ahead on their own schedule. All day today at Franklin High School, 15 Now is hosting their first national conference, with people assembling from all over the US to rally and discuss strategies on raising the minimum wage to $15, here and elsewhere. Tonight at 7:30, at a closing rally, Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant will speak to conference attendees. The crowd is reportedly a few hundred strong so far.

If you wanted to follow along on Twitter, you can check out 15 Now or find some of the action at the hashtags #15now and #a26.

Why we are holding this conference

https://www.15now.org/april-26/

Seattle is poised to be the first major city to win a $15 minimum wage and a win in Seattle will be a victory everywhere for our growing movement which aims to lift millions out of poverty across the country.

Building on the momentum in Seattle and the fast food workers strikes last year, 15 Now actions were held in 21 cities across the country during the March 8th – 15th Week of Action.

But big business is gearing up for a counter-offensive to the movement for $15 and will fight tooth and nail to protect their massive profits made from paying their workers poverty wages. What will it take to beat this counter-offensive, win in Seattle and grow the movement nationally?

We cannot rely on the political establishment. Even in Seattle, where the Mayor has set up an Advisory Committee to discuss a $15/hr minimum wage, there are no guarantees, especially with big corporations campaigning to stop us. Big Business wants to defeat $15 or undermine a real $15/hr minimum wage by including tip credit and “total compensation” where tips and benefits would be counted towards wages.

We can only rely on our own strength and need to build even more grassroots pressure from below. In Seattle, we will weigh up whether or not to launch a signature gathering campaign to put a robust $15 minimum wage initiative on the November ballot to let the people of Seattle decide.