Tacoma residents will not be voting on a proposal to increase Tacoma’s minimum wage to $20 in February after a court order in a lawsuit over the measure.
The minimum-wage hike is part of a proposal for a “Worker’s Bill of Rights” that groups like the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 367, Tacoma For All and the Tacoma-Pierce County Democratic Socialists of America fought to put on the ballot this year. The measure seeks to increase protections for workers in Tacoma, but the City Council has expressed concerns about the implications the proposal could have on the city and its business community, saying that the city hasn’t had time to assess the impact it might have.
What ensued is a months-long legal battle between the organizations that put the measure forward and the city over when the measure should appear on the ballot or if it should appear on the ballot at all…