Seattle, WA

Seattle Restaurant Workers Could See a Big Spike in Pay Next Year

Published

2 years ago

July 18, 2024

Seattle Restaurant Workers Could See a Big Spike in Pay Next Year

As restaurant owners wait for the Seattle City Council to deal with high delivery app fees, there’s another challenge facing their businesses, reports the Seattle Times: The minimum wage at restaurants could go up by as much as $3 next year. That would be a huge boost for many low-wage workers, and also potentially an existential threat for restaurants that rely on those workers.

As of 2024, the minimum wage in Seattle is $19.97 an hour, unless you employ fewer than 500 employees, in which case you are allowed to pay them $17.25, provided the difference is made up by tips or medical benefits. According to the Times, this exception was carved out during negotiations over the minimum wage law passed nearly a decade ago, as then-Mayor Ed Murray attempted to assemble as broad a coalition as possible for the groundbreaking wage hike.

When that law went into effect in 2015, everyone was referring to it as a “$15 minimum wage,” then seen as a high number. (Small businesses then had to pay workers an $11 minimum wage.) Since then, Seattle’s minimum wage has risen beyond that number because the law ties it to inflation; Seattle’s Office of Labor Standards will announce the 2025 minimum wage in the fall. But the provision that allows small businesses to pay certain employees less will expire next year unless lawmakers take action, which means that in addition to the usual inflation-adjusted bump, smaller businesses will have to pay their employees as much as large ones do, and they won’t be able to factor tips into the equation.

This impacts the restaurant industry in particular because very few Seattle restaurant groups have more than 500 employees. The exception is Ethan Stowell Restaurants (ESR), which, the Times notes, hit that mark last year and responded by putting all workers, including servers, on an hourly rate and adding a service charge to checks.

“You either have to change the model next year or prices are going to go astronomically high or places are going to have to close down,” CEO Ethan Stowell told the Times.

The ESR example provides a window into how the industry could change if this small business exception expires. “The reaction among staff was mixed” at ESR, the Times writes. “For some, it was a positive, because it meant they earned more on sick days or when taking leave. Others quit.” This reflects a divide among restaurant workers — some want their pay to be more stable, while some servers and bartenders make good money thanks to tips and might see their earnings drop if they had to become hourly workers. Meanwhile, some customers really, really hate the service fees that tend to come with the hourly wage restaurant model.

According to the Times, restaurant industry lobbyists have been asking the City Council to make the small business exception in the minimum wage law permanent. But this is a tough ask. The Council also has other issues to deal with, and some members have conflicts of interest — Council President Sara Nelson is a co-founder of Fremont Brewing and still owns a portion of the company.

If politicians tried to tweak the minimum wage law, they would also face opposition from labor groups. David Rolf, a former union president who helped negotiate the law in the first place, was blunt about this when he spoke to the Times: “Undermining Seattle’s minimum wage law is political suicide for anyone who tries.”

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Seattle, WA

FOLLOWUP: City Light’s Brace Point project now one-third complete

Published

1 hour ago

April 4, 2026

Press Room

FOLLOWUP: City Light’s Brace Point project now one-third complete

If you live in the Fauntleroy-area neighborhood where Seattle City Light is working on long-needed underground repairs and updates, Brace Point, you’ve probably closely followed their progress. For those who haven’t, here’s the latest of SCL’s periodic updates:

Seattle City Light contractors continue to work on the underground electrical infrastructure serving the Brace Point neighborhood. They are installing new duct banks, conduits, cables, vaults, and streetlights. The new infrastructure will help reduce the risk of outages and improve service for residents.
Underground civil construction is approximately 32% complete. Our crews have installed 3,470 linear feet of conduit and 13 underground electrical vaults. We expect to finish most civil construction by the end of 2026. After that, crews will focus on cleaning staging areas and restoring the project area to the same, if not better, condition.
You can reach our team at bracepointcable@stephersonassociates.com or 206-312-0021.
If you would like to talk to a member of the project team in person, you can find us in the upstairs meeting room at the Southwest Branch of the Seattle Public Library on Wednesday, April 8 from 12-1 PM.
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Current work areas:
Southwest Brace Point Drive: Crews are working near the intersection of 46th Ave. SW and SW Brace Point Drive.
47th Ave. Southwest: Crews are working north along 47th Ave. SW near the intersection of 46th Ave. SW and SW Roxbury St. Please drive carefully through this intersection and expect changing traffic patterns as the work progresses.
Longer than usual delays: Concrete pours are scheduled to occur on Wednesdays from 8 AM – 2 PM for the remainder of the project. Due to the narrow streets, trucks may have to park in the right-of-way. Please plan for longer than normal delays during these times.
Pedestrian trail: Crews are running new conduit and replacing the streetlight on the trail between 47th Ave.
Southwest to 48th Ave. Southwest. The trail is closed and expected to reopen in mid-April, once crews have finished the foundation for the new light pole. They will restore any areas disturbed by the project to City standards.
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Upcoming work areas
46th Ave. Southwest: After crews complete work on Brace Point Drive, they will start utility work on the segment of 46th Ave SW between Brace Point Drive and the intersection of SW Roxbury St and 47th Ave SW.
47th Ave. Southwest: This spring, crews will start working near the south end of 47th Ave. SW and work north towards the intersection of SW 98th St.

The work finally started last fall, five years after the originally projected start date.

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Seattle, WA

Video shows man attempt to push stranger in front of train in Seattle

Published

13 hours ago

April 3, 2026

Press Room

Video shows man attempt to push stranger in front of train in Seattle

A man was charged with attempted murder after a video appeared to show him attempting to push a person in front of a moving train. The moment was captured on surveillance camera footage.

The incident occurred on the Northgate light rail station in Seattle on March 19, as a train was pulling up, according to Storyful.

The video shows a man wearing a black hoodie standing behind a stranger who was on his phone. The man watches the train tracks, and as the train comes into view in the video, the man then pushes the victim, who stumbles forward. When the victim regains his balance, the suspect attempts to push him again and then flees the scene. The victim was able to hold his footing and appears to follow the man.

See shocking video of the attack

Suspect ordered mental health evaluation

Detectives later found the suspect, identified as Elisio Melendez, at a “mental health community facility where he lived,” according to the King County Prosecutor’s Office.

Melendez was later charged with attempted murder in the second degree and is being held on a $750,000 bail, according to King County arrest records obtained by USA TODAY.

Melendez, whose defense team stated has a history of mental illness, reported KOMO News, was ordered to undergo mental health evaluations during his arraignment on Tuesday, March 31.

USA TODAY has reached out to Melendez’s attorney for comment.

Immediate mental health help is available in the U.S. by calling or texting 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Julia Gomez is a Trending reporter for USA TODAY and covers popular toys, space phenomena, scientific studies, natural disasters, holidays, and trending news. Connect with her on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com.

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Seattle, WA

I-5 blocked near Chehalis, WA due to barricaded suspect

Published

1 day ago

April 3, 2026

Press Room

I-5 blocked near Chehalis, WA due to barricaded suspect

Standoff blocks I-5 in Chehalis

Washington State Patrol is in a standoff with a barricaded suspect that attempted to flee from troopers in Lewis County on Thursday.

CHEHALIS, Wash. – All lanes of I-5 are fully blocked near Chehalis due to a barricaded suspect on the freeway.

Washington State Patrol and law enforcement engaged in a standoff on I-5 near Chehalis. (Washington State Patrol)

What we know:

Washington State Patrol troopers are currently engaged in a standoff with a suspect that fled from Mason and Thurston County troopers.

Northbound and southbound I-5 are fully blocked just south of Chehalis, near the U.S. Route 12 interchange. Traffic is being diverted just before US-12.

The suspect’s vehicle was reportedly spiked on Rush Road in Chehalis before coming to a stop on southbound I-5. There is only one person in the vehicle, and troopers are still negotiating with the suspect.

Drivers are asked to avoid the area and expect delays.

What we don’t know:

It’s currently unknown what led up to the pursuit.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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The Source: Information in this story came from the Washington State Patrol.

Crime and Public SafetyChehalisLewis CountyNews

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