State minimum wage rises again

Likely to remain nation's highest

By Mark Johnson, VP Government Affairs

As of January 1, 2013 the Washington State minimum wage will climb to $9.19 per hour from its current level of $9.04 - a 15-cent increase.  The state allows and will likely continue to allow the highest minimum wage in the country.

If you are a retailer who depends on minimum wage employees to make your operation work and stay viable, this news is disappointing.  Our state continues to struggle along the bottom during this sluggish and unpredictable economy and recession.  Retailers and other businesses will have no choice but to lower staff levels to make up the difference.  Has our economy really improved to the point where we can force employers to pay more in wages even when their business has not improved? 

Additionally, we need to consider the impacts to higher wage earners.  When the entry-level positions are arbitrarily given a raise not based on performance, upper-level employees expect to receive a raise as well.  This is called wage compression.

Instead of automatically raising the minimum wage every year based on Seattle's urban price index, as Washington does, state officials should look at the realities of our economy.  We still have high unemployment and low consumer confidence.  Raising the minimum wage leads to higher prices and fewer jobs.

The state legislature and governor should seriously consider freezing the minimum wage during times of high unemployment.  They should also look at expanding the state teen wage to include 16 and 17 year olds.  This age group is severely impacted and continues to find it more difficult to find work and develop the necessary job skills to be successful later in life.

Finally, the state should consider using a different wage calculator.  Using Seattle to calculate wages for Omak, where the cost of living is a fraction of the big city, is ridiculous. 

I hope the new governor and the legislature have the fortitude to address these very real concerns during the upcoming legislative session.