SeaTac minimum wage for hospitality and transportation workers upped to $15 January 1.

But there will be more law suits, because some are exempt.  There will also be many jobs lost as employers try to scramble not only to find the money, but to increase those who have been working for years above minimum.  How much does a mechanic deserve if the hospitality worker cleaning the hotel room or the driver of the van gets $15/hour as a beginning salary.  How many workers, if they are good, remain at minimum whether they are burger flippers or hotel maids?

And why does the city council think hospitality workers should earn more than McDonald’s or Burger King workers.  At least they get tips.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/31/news/seatac-minimum-wage/

Washington’s in for a rough economic ride.  Unions are pushing Boeing, who may just leave the state for a right to work state.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/02/business/vote-on-boeing-contract-highlights-rift-in-machinists-union.html

The dispute highlights a rift within the union, one that reflects the varying priorities of its leadership. Union officials in Washington State want to preserve gains hard won from a company that has surging profits and record plane orders. But the international leadership sees a different threat — the possibility of losing a large manufacturing center and more than 10,000 union jobs to a right-to-work state where it would be difficult to win representation. And that could mean a big loss in dues — Boeing workers in the Puget Sound area paid $25.5 million in dues to the international union in 2012.