[EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a Letter to the Editor, written and submitted by a verified Burien resident. It represents the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of South King Media or its staff.]
Thank you for giving your neighbors a win.
It’s not radical to believe that grocery store workers should make enough money to pay rent and feed their families.
It’s not radical to believe that restaurant employees should make enough money to pay rent and feed their families.
It’s not radical to believe that store clerks should make enough money to pay rent and feed their families.
Thank you, Burien voters for giving our workers financial security they need and deserve. Thank you for caring about your neighbors.
Sincerely,
Stephen Lamphear
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Why don’t you instead accept and acknowledge being bought by outside interests and realize individual responsibility for providing for yourself is all on the person, not society or the government.
I’m not purchased by anyone, including those who represent our workers. I’m a 33-year Burien resident, and I spent my own money to push this initiative in the worker’s best interest.
To ‘pull yourself up with your bootstraps’ you first have to have some bootstraps. That’s what we’re giving our workers – bootstraps, limited as they are.
@Louis, It is because there is a portion of our society that feels everything is owed to them and they shouldn’t have to overwork themselves if at all for the things they want. When did this society turn into this? I’m 69 left home at 15 and never not once depended on anyone to give me my food, my home not anything. I worked when I got old enough and never lived off of the government. I am retired now after working 3 different jobs for a total of 48 yrs. First job was to learn the responsibility of a job, 2nd was to make a living to save and feel good of one’s self, and the 3rd was a career to invest and retire from. No where is the 1st job of a minimum wage a job/career to retire from it is the stepping stone. And no where should another City be the deciding factor of what another City should pay someone.
The opposition deliberately lied about Tukwila having control over what we pay our workers. We simply used their wage base as the beginning step. Future increases will be based on the cost of living.
I’m 75 and still working because I did not work in an organization with a pension program and half of my work life has been self-employment. I made my own way and I’ll have to work ’til I die because of it. I believe the government is here to benefit the people. Our city government chose otherwise.
Yes indeed, I was relieved to find out that the loudest ones were the minority.
If the council hadn’t tried sneaking their way around this then maybe there could have been a discussion about a bill that they would like more.
It’s not so much a ‘win’ for the small businesses and restaurants that will have to move or go out of business due to labor costs. Thanks a lot.