Blog

UFCW Local 21 members were a definitive reason why the Seattle City Council passed a fair minimum wage that puts the needs of working families first.

On April 1, the city of Seattle began phasing in a $15 minimum wage. The minimum wage for workers at large businesses and national chains was bumped up to $11 per hour and will gradually increase to $15 by 2017.

From participating in actions throughout the city to sharing their personal stories at public testimony, UFCW Local 21 members were a definitive reason why the Seattle City Council passed a fair minimum wage that puts the needs of working families first.

Tobias Boucher, a UFCW Local 21 member who works at Bartell Drugs, was proud to join Seattle’s fight for $15.

“Having a higher wage will give me a little extra to invest in my future,” he said. “More people and businesses need to realize that lower wages make it really hard to succeed in life because you spend all your time just trying to make ends meet. I hope more cities and states follow the lead of Seattle.”

Minimum wage laws are a powerful tool for helping low-income workers and their families. In Seattle, many workers have been given raises that exceed the current $11 requirement. Most importantly, the efforts of UFCW Local 21 members to boost the minimum wage have sparked debates all across the country about passing wage and leave laws that give workers an improved quality of life.