Minimum wage: Trouble?

With reports of the potential failure of Mayor Ed Murray's proposal for a $15 minimum wage, a Seattle City Council committee held a lengthy session to study the mayor's approach. Councilmember Sally Clark, who chairs the Committee on Minimum Wage and Income Inequality, sought to play down suggestions that the mayor's compromise is unraveling. Council's questions and exploration of changes to his suggested legislation are a normal part of the process. "This is what we get paid to do," Clark said. But, as Publicola reports, labor leaders are already troubled by the possibility of a two-tiered payment system where businesses get to pay lower wages to teenagers and some trainees. If that's going to happen, labor leaders want the council to compensate by introducing alternative, worker-friendly changes to the mayor's plan. During the meeting, Councilmember Kshama Sawant noted that Murray had added the training wage language without any recommendation from the advisory committee that helped him on the issue. Let the fun begin. — J.C.