Capitol Hill biz to mayor: No on $15 min. wage

 



 

Several business owners on Capitol Hill have sent a letter to Seattle Mayor Ed Murray voicing their concerns about the idea of raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

They are part of the Broadway Business Owners Association on Capitol Hill. In the letter to the mayor, the group asks the city to exempt small businesses from having to pay $15 an hour if the city ultimately decides to raise the minimum wage.

The group is made up of owners of clothing stores, salons, and restaurants. The letter says a $15 minimum wage hike would mean a 60% increase in employee wages, and, "Would create an extreme hardship and in some cases closure of small business owners and family operated businesses whose profit margin, if barely, is in the 2-5% margin range."

The mayor has formed a committee to look at how feasible a minimum wage increase would be in Seattle. Kshama Sawant, newly elected to the city council, has made it her priority to raise the minimum wage in the city to $15 an hour.