On Saturday, July 1, Tukwila’s new Minimum Wage and Access to Hours law will go into effect.
The law was passed by Tukwila voters in November, 2022, with 82.66% approval.
Starting on July 1:
- The minimum wage will rise to $18.99 for employers with over 500 employees worldwide, with inflation adjustments every Jan. 1 after that.
- The minimum wage will rise to $16.99 for employers with between 15 and 500 employees worldwide and gross annual revenue over $2 million. This is the first step in a phase-in that will converge with the large employer rate in July 2025.
- Affected employers must offer additional available hours to current part-time employees before hiring new employees or subcontractors.
TRU, which coordinated the Raise the Wage Tukwila campaign, has been talking with workers at and around Southcenter Mall over the past few months to spread awareness of the law. About half of workers that organizers have spoken with were unaware of their new rights.
The statewide minimum wage is currently $15.74, so a Tukwila worker making minimum wage at a large employer would receive a raise of more than $3 an hour on July 1.
This year, SeaTac’s minimum wage for most workers is $19.06 and Seattle’s is $18.69. In Renton, a campaign inspired by Raise the Wage Tukwila is gathering petition signatures to qualify for the ballot, aiming to raise Renton’s minimum wage to match Tukwila’s.
On Saturday, July 1, TRU will be celebrating and continuing to get the word out to workers outside Southcenter Mall. There will be tables set up near the bus stops outside the mall from 11 a.m. till 3 p.m.
