Editor's Note: On March 4, 2020 the Washington State House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 6217.
On February 17, 2020, the Washington State Senate voted to pass legislation that would give the Port of Seattle the authority to set labor standards for airline catering workers employed at their facilities who were exempted from Proposition 1 (passed by the city of SeaTac in 2013). Senate Bill 6217, gives the Port the ability to require that wages for airline catering employers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport receive the inflation-adjusted minimum wage of $15 per hour set by Proposition 1. Port staff worked with Unite HERE’s representatives in Olympia to arrive at consensus language on the proposed legislation.
The bill has passed in the Washington State House and the Senate and has moved to Governor Jay Inslee’s desk for his signature and official enactment. On Monday February 24, 2020, Port of Seattle Commissioner Sam Cho testified in support of the legislation in front of the House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee.
Thank you, Chair Sells, Ranking Member Mosbrucker, members of the Committee.
My name is Sam Cho, Commissioner at the Port of Seattle.
I am here to express our Commission’s support for Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6217, and to thank Representative Gregerson for her work on the House companion.
Our commissioners feel a sense of urgency to address the issue before you and are deeply concerned about the welfare of the workers at the airport who are not covered by the fifteen-dollar minimum wage ordinance in place in the City of SeaTac.
When the Port previously testified to this committee, we expressed support for the intent of Representative Gregerson’s companion, but also shared concerns with the scope and potential unintended consequences.
Since then, we have engaged in productive conversations with the House and Senate bill sponsors, and the bill’s proponents.
The bill before you today reflects that work, and reflects the determination of all involved to get to consensus language that will help airline catering workers get to a more decent wage.
This is a narrowly tailored solution that allows the Port Commission to help ensure these workers are not left behind.
We appreciate your committee for hearing the bill today, and we urge its adoption.
