Mayor Harrell Statement on Minimum Wage Discussions

Today, Mayor Bruce Harrell issued the following statement on minimum wage discussions:

"Seattle is proud of our national leadership in advancing policies for living wages and worker standards in all sectors, including restaurants. As a member of the task force and City Council that helped deliver a $15 minimum wage, this policy was made possible because of the compromise of a temporary tiered system that will expire this year.

"I am committed to ending this disparity in wages, as we agreed to at the time. I also recognize that COVID and resulting record inflation were not forecasted into our original projections, and I have heard from struggling small restaurants who are still working to recover from the impacts of the pandemic and worried about the immediate financial impact of this expiration.

"I am committed to bringing appropriate stakeholders together to have a robust and thoughtful conversation with the twin goals of ending tiered wages and fostering an economic environment where small businesses can thrive."