A new initiative challenging the City of Burien’s recently-approved minimum wage ordinance will likely go before voters on the February, 2025 ballot.
4,420 valid signatures were required by King County Elections, and petition organizers say they gathered 4,690.
As we previously reported, in March the Burien City Council passed its own minimum wage raise via Ordinance 837, which will go into effect Jan. 1, 2025, and be $3/hour higher than the state’s, making it $19.28 per hour, depending on business size.
The proposed new initiative would raise Burien’s minimum wage to $20.29 per hour for large employers, matching the wage floor in nearby Tukwila, which is currently the highest in the nation. The wage would also be adjusted annually for inflation.
Proponents of the measure, including the group Raise the Wage Burien, argue that the increase would align Burien with other regional cities like Seattle and SeaTac and provide much-needed financial relief to low-income workers in the area.
“We’re thrilled to have finally qualified for the February 2025 ballot,” Katie Wilson, Campaign Coordinator for Raise the Wage Burien told The B-Town Blog. “Gathering these signatures was a ton of work, but it gave us a chance to talk with thousands of residents who want Burien to be a city where workers earn a fair wage and families can thrive. If we thought the ordinance the council passed earlier this year would meaningfully raise wages for Burien workers, we definitely wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of running this initiative. We’re glad that voters will now have a chance to approve a policy that will put Burien more in line with surrounding cities.”
King County Elections provided the final signature validation totals for the campaign, which showed that while 1,344 valid signatures were counted from the most recent submission, some duplicates were found when batches were combined, resulting in a lower total than initially expected (see table below).
Organizers said that the overall validity rate aligns with similar efforts seen in Tukwila and Renton.
Elections officials confirmed the totals on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, and the letter of sufficiency was sent to the Burien City Clerk the following day.
The Burien City Council will next either pass a resolution to send the measure to the February ballot or approve it outright, though approval is unlikely, seeing that they already approved Ordinance 837.
CATEGORY | COMBINED TOTALS | REQUIRED % | ACCEPTED % |
---|---|---|---|
Submitted | 8,259 | – | – |
Required | 4,420 | 106.11% | – |
Reviewed | 8,259 | – | – |
Accepted | 4,690 | – | 56.78% |
Challenged | 3,569 | – | – |
CATEGORY | CUMULATIVE TOTALS | ACCEPTED % |
---|---|---|
Submitted | 1,808 | – |
Accepted | 1,344 | 74.34% |
Challenged | 464 | – |
City of Burien Responds
We reached out to the City of Burien for a comment, and they said:
“At this time, our staff will continue to focus on providing accurate information and resources for Burien’s current minimum wage law as passed by the Burien City Council in March 2024. The City of Burien has and will continue to fulfil all duties associated with the initiative process in partnership with King County Elections.”
The initiative now faces a verification process before potentially appearing on the February 2025 ballot, and a decision is expected around Sept. 30 or Oct. 7.
#RaiseTheWageBurien has officially qualified for the Feb. 2025 ballot! Go Team!@WashingtonCAN@WashingtonBus@ufcw3000@MLKLabor@workingwa@Allyship@WFP_WA@SeattleDSA
— Transit Riders Union (@SeattleTRU) September 21, 2024
& many more! https://t.co/s6YX0ny2Yo
Mininum wage increases were automatic in the jurisdiction I grew up in. Employees and employers knew this would occur a couple of times each year.
A person making this newly proposed mininum wage in Burien, who secures full time, Verifiable employment (2080 hours/per year) can afford to pay $1,040 in monthly rent. That is based on 30% of their gross wage, for rent. This calculation is used by banks and governments across the US.