A Seattle suburban mayoral competition being decided today at the ballot box could vault the SeaTac suburb to the status of highest-minimum-wage entity in the U.S.
SeaTac incumbent Mayor Mike McGinn, responding to his opponent Ed Murray's vow to raise the hourly minimum wage to $15 for certain workers, says he might not stop there, declaring "I'll be there" at whatever figure the City Council arrives at, even if it's higher than $15.
However, the measure as enunciated in the campaign would apply solely to airport-associated workers. Alaska Air, a major carrier at the SeaTab hub, is opposed to the measure, as are other affected airport businesses.
The measure in SeaTac, a suburb of 27,000 south of Seattle where the major employer is Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, would raise the minimum to $15 for 6,300 people who work at the airport, hotels and rental-car agencies.
Los Angeles airport employees are guaranteed $15.67, but SeaTac would top that in its reach if not in total compensation.
Mayoral candidate Murray, a Democrat in the State Senate, would extend the wage to city workers and then to employees of national fast-food chains and retailers.
The Washington minimum wage, at $9.19 an hour, is already the highest in the nation for a state. No city has a minimum wage as high as $15 an hour, but there are living wage standards in some municipalities matching or topping that for certain industries and professions.