Tacoma City Council Sabotages People-Powered Ballot Initiative to Raise The Minimum Wage

The City of Tacoma is once again pulling some trickery to thwart grassroots organizations’ efforts to make their city more livable for working people. Advocates from United Food and Commercial Workers Local 367, Tacoma for All, and Tacoma Democratic Socialists of America are suing the City of Tacoma because the Tacoma City Council delayed a vote to put the “Worker’s Bill of Rights” citizen initiative on the November ballot, punting it to a lower-turnout special election. As the complaint put it, “It is fundamentally unfair, and contrary to statutory requirements, for local government to delay the processing of an initiative and to use that delay to deny ballot access.”

In February, Tacomans launched their signature drive for their “Worker’s Bill of Rights” initiative. If it became law, the initiative would establish a $20 minimum wage indexed to inflation, mandate predictable scheduling, and enhance workplace safety measures—basics that make workers’ lives better while sending tyrannical business owners into a tailspin at public comment.

The campaign turned in their signatures on June 24, giving the city plenty of time to put the measure before voters on the November ballot. But delays plagued the process at every step. According to the complaint, the auditor’s office didn’t even start verifying signatures until July 7. When the auditor finished verifying the signatures two days later, the City Council had until August 5—almost a whole month—to vote before the deadline to put the measure on the November ballot, pass it outright, or put it on the ballot with their own alternative measure.

The council heard several presentations about the initiative in that window, so they can’t rebrand their slowness for diligence. Besides, the City Council’s vote is not an endorsement of the initiative, but a procedural move to allow voters the choice.

August 5 came, and instead of voting to put the measure on the ballot, the council voted to hold a special meeting later in the week, after the deadline had passed. In that meeting, the council voted to send the measure to the people, but because of their delays, the people would have to wait for a special election.

That feels intentional to advocates. Special elections tend to see much lower turnout than general elections, and lower turnout tends to mean less poor voters, renter voters, voters of color, and, in general, voters who may be likely to support the Worker’s Bill of Rights. The Seattle City Council pulled a similar move last year when the campaign to fund social housing turned in their signatures. The council delayed the vote without warning, pushing the issue to a special election where it would face their corporate-backed alternative. Even after gaming the system, the corporate cronies still lost.

Tacoma is also no stranger to messing with the initiative process. When Tacoma for All collected enough signatures to put their renters’ rights package on the ballot, the City of Tacoma put forward a misleading alternative, presenting pre-existing protections as another option to bubble in, which in effect would have given voters two ways to reject the people-powered initiative. When Tacoma pulled that stunt, Tacoma for All sued and knocked the alternative off the ballot. Ultimately, Tacoma for All won their renters’ rights package, and the City of Tacoma clearly did not learn a god damn thing.