FACTS: People able to afford to live where they work benefits everyone.
Heard about the grassroots, community-led campaign to get the minimum wage raised in Tukwila? Check out this article in the South Seattle Emerald supporting local campaigns to improve wages and working conditions for everyone:
We lead the Highline, Tukwila, Renton, Kent, Auburn, and Federal Way Education Associations. Together we represent several thousand educators working in communities all across South King County. We think it’s time for more cities to follow Tukwila’s recent example and raise their minimum wages.
Imagine you’re a single parent working full-time for the state minimum wage, $14.49 an hour. Your annual income is about $30,000. If you’re lucky, and you’ve been able to find a modest 1-bedroom apartment for $1,500, congratulations: You’re only paying $18,000, or 60% of your total income, in rent. You have $1,000 a month left to cover everything else for you and your kids: food, clothing, school supplies, gas, car repairs, transit fares, health care, child care — let alone taking time off to visit family or buy gifts for the holidays.