The Port of Seattle said Thursday (Aug. 20) that it “respects the Washington State Supreme Court’s decision…” The port will work with the City of SeaTac, which is responsible for the implementation and enforcement of Proposition 1.
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A divided Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a first-in-the nation initiative to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour in the city of SeaTac should apply to workers at the airport. But the court ruled the wage can be enforced at Sea-Tac Airport because “there is no indication that it will interfere with airport operations”.
This decision reverses previous rulings by a trial court. It is “reviewing what effects the ruling may have on operations, policies and employment standards related to tenants, customers and stakeholders who work at Sea-Tac Airport”.
The Legislature “intended to vest authority for the operation of the airport exclusively with the Port of Seattle”, but that “it did not intend to prohibit a local municipality like the city of SeaTac from regulating for the general welfare in a manner unrelated to airport operations”.
“We have to make sure we abide by what Proposition 1 says, but also stay in business”, she said.
Because the initiative ties the minimum wage to the consumer price index, SeaTac’s minimum wage increased to $15.24 an hour last January.
“The one disappointment is that the court’s ruling was not retroactive, which means employees may not receive back wages”. Together, they have already raised standards for 45,000…
“If the city of SeaTac can unilaterally impose other measures at the airport, such as Proposition 1’s sweeping wage and employee right protections, what is the point of requiring the Port of Seattle’s consent to enforce a minimally intrusive fire code?” “We also hold that federal labor law does not preempt the provision protecting workers from retaliation”.
“SeaTac’s adoption of the minimum wage suggested, yeah, this is really possible, this is a political reality that led to cities like Seattle and Los Angeles adopting their own minimum wage hikes”, Garden said. Private sector businesses off the Port’s property implemented the law in 2014.
However, a King County Superior Court judge ruled that the law doesn’t apply to the airport because it is controlled by the Port of Seattle, not the city of SeaTac.
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The small city of SeaTac, which has a population of about 28,000, landed in the national spotlight in 2013 when unions such as the Services Employees worldwide Union poured money into the effort to pass the $15-an-hour wage for hospitality and transportation workers. The question for today: Will workers have to sue Alaska airlines and others for back pay?
