Frequent Asked Questions
What will Renton’s new minimum wage be if this campaign succeeds?
Our proposal would raise Renton's minimum wage to $20.29 starting July 1st, 2024 for large employers, and $18.29 for small-to-medium businesses. The smallest of business are entirely exempt from this initiative. There will be an inflation adjustment every January thereafter, written in compliance with Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I), using the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index, also known as the CPI-W, in calculating annual inflation increases.
How many signatures did you have to collect to qualify for the February 13th, 2024 Ballot?
The rule is 15% of the number of registered voters at the time of the last general election. That means we needed almost 9,000 valid signatures of Renton voters. On November 20th, 2023, Initiative Measure No. 23-02 was adopted by Renton City Council and submitted to King County Elections in time for the February 13th, 2024 Special Election.
Our Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) campaign is in full swing and we need your help. Please consider attending a scheduled canvass or phonebank to Renton residents anytime between now and Election Night!
This sounds like a good idea. Who will oppose raising the minimum wage?
When workers and unions in SeaTac and Seattle fought to raise the minimum wage in those cities several years ago, large corporations and industry associations spent millions of dollars trying to defeat those campaigns. They spread fear and misinformation about what would happen if wages went up. Surprisingly, during the 2022 ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage in Tukwila, there was no active opposition!
LATEST UPDATE: On December 11th, 2023, the “No on 23-02” Political Action Committee (PAC) registered with the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC). These lobbyists are planning to bankroll funds with support from large national retailer and hospitality trade groups. Recent contributions within the first week total $68,250, suggesting a massive misinformation campaign underway.
Read more in our latest Community News Release.
Pitch in a small-dollar donation now to help us combat this opposition.
Will this hurt businesses and force them to close?
SeaTac and Seattle raised their minimum wages years ago, and Tukwila raised theirs last year. In all cases, the vast majority of businesses did just fine.
The City of Renton is a unique, diverse City with an expansive blue-collar history. When people can afford to live and relax in the cities they work, that spending circulates locally.
Studies show that raising the minimum wage benefits small businesses by;
reducing employee turnover and absenteeism
increasing worker productivity
increasing consumer purchasing power
boosting customer satisfaction
and ensuring working families can afford to live in Renton.
Our proposal will bring Renton into line with these neighboring cities. In order to maintain competitiveness, we must raise the minimum wage.
If businesses have to pay higher wages, won’t prices go up even more?
Transportation, food, and rent grew more expensive, and that’s exactly why it’s so important to raise the minimum wage. Low-wage workers are being left behind. This is about basic fairness. Many corporations are making record profits right now. They can easily afford a modest wage increase for their lowest-paid employees. Besides, it is neither just nor practical to try and control inflation by denying the lowest-wage workers a living wage.
Placing the burden of controlling costs on the lowest wage-earning worker will only serve to further destabilize an already-unstable economic environment for tens of thousands of workers in Renton due to stagnant wages, rising rents and inflation.
According to the Federal Reserve, higher consumer costs are near exclusively caused by unregulated price increases from large companies who have taken advantage of disruptions in the supply chain.
Since the start of the COVID pandemic, the average S&P 500 Company brought in near trillion-dollar record stock buybacks and over $500 billion in shareholder dividends, led primarily by the consumer discretionary sector (purchases in non-essential products or services).
While spending has continued to increase, workers are systematically left behind and bankroll record profits.
Who is running this campaign?
Raise the Wage Renton is a broad coalition with support from many community organizations, labor unions, local businesses, elected officials, and Renton residents and workers.
Over 15 endorsed local labor unions, including the Boeing Workers’ Union (IAM&AW 751), healthcare workers’ unions, the local public school teachers’ union (Renton Education Association) and the MLK Labor Council - representing 150+ unions in King County.
You can find a list of endorsers here.
Renton residents and workers from the local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) also support this campaign. DSA is a national democratic organization of working people, with a chapter covering all of King County – you can join as a member to support our work for the long haul!
Who is funding this campaign?
This is a grassroots effort powered by people just like you. Our main contributors include endorsed labor union donations, individual contributons from residents, workers and volunteer time from our Executive Board.
Please consider a small-dollar donation to help our campaign in the final stretch.
Our campaign believes in full transparency, and is proud of our grassroots effort and where our money comes from. Find a detailed report on our local PAC filings with the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) using the link above.
Aren’t businesses already raising wages because they’re having trouble hiring workers?
Some are, but many aren’t. We’ve talked with many Renton workers who are still making only the statewide minimum wage of $15.74! Some businesses would like to pay more, but they’re in competition with irresponsible corporations that keep wages as low as possible. We’re trying to level the playing field for employers who want to do the right thing.