Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber endorses $12 for Tacoma

‘Measure 1B is the minimum wage increase that works for Tacoma’

TACOMA - The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber endorses the “$12 for Tacoma” campaign in support of Measure 1B, calling it the minimum wage increase that works for Tacoma’s workers and its economy.

Measure 1B, a compromise proposal put on the Nov. 3 ballot by the Tacoma City Council, will raise the minimum wage by 27 percent over two years from $9.47 to $12 per hour.

“The Chamber represents hundreds of small business owners who make up the foundation of Tacoma’s economy,” said Tom Pierson, President and CEO of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber. “As the Chamber’s board deliberated, it became clear that $12 for Tacoma is the reasonable choice to help address income inequality while still providing a two-year phase-in for business owners to adjust to the higher wages.

“Measure 1B is the minimum wage increase on the Nov. 3 ballot that fits Tacoma’s economy and was put on the ballot by eight members of the Tacoma City Council after months of collaboration among community leaders,” Pierson added.

The alternative minimum wage proposal on the November ballot, Measure 1, was put on the ballot by a group of activists seeking to increase the minimum wage to $15, making Tacoma’s minimum wage the highest in the U.S. The full wage increase would kick in without any phase-in period; meaning business owners would have only weeks to increase their wages by 58 percent.

“That kind of extreme and overnight change will harm Tacoma’s economy and small businesses across the city,” Pierson said. “This is why Measure 1B makes so much sense as a compromise that the entire Tacoma community can get behind.  It will increase the minimum wage to $12 while giving business owners two years to adapt to the change.”

The $12 for Tacoma campaign was launched last month by co-chairs and small business owners Don Hansen and Kevin Hayes. Hansen is president and owner of Cascade Park Communities, operating three senior care facilities in Tacoma, and Hayes is founder and principal of Tacoma Marketing Group, specializing in strategic marketing, brand development, and website design.