EVERETT, AUG 8– Two petitions that would raise the minimum wage in Everett to $20.24 will appear on the November 5 ballot.
The Everett City Council held a special meeting on Tuesday Aug. 6, to complete the city’s obligation to approve petitions from Everett Deserves a Raise (EDR) and Raise the Wage Responsibly (RWR), who both reached signature requirements.
Last month, Everett City Clerk Marista Jorve, certified that EDR has 934 valid signatures and RWR has 1,307 valid signatures.
Petitions would need to have between 928 to 2,875 signatures to appear on the November ballot, and if they have more than 2,876 signatures, the council would have had 10 days to pass the petition.
Both EDR and RWR are petitioning to raise Everett’s minimum wage from $16.28 to $20.24
Everett Deserves a Raise wants to raise the minimum wage without incorporating tips and other forms of compensation workers might earn. On the other hand, Raise the Wage Responsibly wants to incorporate the tips that workers might earn in their minimum wage proposal.
EDR wants to exclude worker compensation because there is no guarantee for employees that they will earn sufficient tips to meet the minimum wage. RWR wants to include worker compensation because it’s much easier for businesses to combat the potential rise in costs.
