Fifteen has been a key number in the struggle to raise the

By Matt Driscoll • September 30, 2014 12:02 pm
Forgive us for going all Publicola for a moment, but with the

Fifteen has been a key number in the struggle to raise the minimum wage in Seattle. The same goes for the SeaTac effort the predated Seattle’s historic minimum wage legislation.

Apparently the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries has taken notice. The agency announced Tuesday plans to get in on the 15 action, although the results for low-wage workers wont be nearly as exciting.

Starting Jan. 1, 2015, the state’s minimum wage will jump to $9.47 an hour, a 15-cent increase over the current minimum wage. The hike is part of a yearly assessment required under state law.

Fifteen now!

According to the state L&I office, the increase will “affect more than 67,000 workers, based on full-time equivalent positions,” and the “per hour increase will total $312 per year.” The change is based on the 1.59 percent increase in the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

As the press release notes, Washington already has the highest minimum wage in the nation. Oregon’s minimum wage will also jump by 15 cents in 2015, going to $9.25 an hour.

The federal minimum wage, meanwhile, is $7.25 an hour. Three states have minimum wages lower than the federal level: Wyoming and Georgia boast a $5.15 minimum wage, while Arkansas pays a $6.25 minimum wage.