Seattle, WA
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.”
In recognition of International Transgender Day of Visibility on Monday, Mayor Bruce Harrell and city leaders signed new legislation to support individuals seeking gender-affirming and reproductive health care services in Seattle.
The Seattle Seahawks have the 18th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft when Round 1 begins April 24 in Green Bay. The Seahawks own 10 total picks in the seven-round draft, including three in the top 52 and four in the top 92.
Seahawks’ draft picks
| Round | Pick | Overall | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
18 |
18 |
|
|
2 |
18 |
50 |
|
|
2 |
20 |
52 |
From Steelers |
|
3 |
18 |
82 |
|
|
3 |
28 |
92 |
From Lions via Jets, Raiders |
|
4 |
35 |
137 |
Compensatory pick |
|
5 |
34 |
172 |
Compensatory pick |
|
5 |
37 |
175 |
Compensatory pick |
|
7 |
7 |
223 |
From Saints via Eagles, Steelers |
|
7 |
18 |
234 |
Full draft order
Every pick in the seven-round NFL Draft.
NFL Draft details
• Round 1: April 24, 8 p.m. ET
• Rounds 2-3: April 25, 7 p.m. ET
• Rounds 4-7: April 26, noon ET
All rounds will be televised on ESPN/ABC and NFL Network and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes.
About the Seahawks
• General manager: John Schneider (16th season with team)
• Head coach: Mike Macdonald (second season with team)
• Last year’s record: 10-7
The Seahawks were the only team with at least 10 wins to miss the playoffs in 2024. Led by a first-year coach in Macdonald, Seattle had a decent season and produced three Pro Bowlers, one via the original ballot (Devon Witherspoon) and two via injury replacement (Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Leonard Williams). Those three will headline a new-look Seattle team, which also has a new offensive play caller in Klink Kubiak, trying to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2022.
Scouting the decision-makers
Schneider added president of football operations to his title in January 2024, giving him final say on personnel, which was previously held by Pete Carroll. However, Schneider has said Carroll rarely used his veto power in 14 years together, and Schneider took offense to a question last offseason that intimated he was only now running the show because Carroll is gone.
• The Seahawks’ 2024 NFL Draft class
Seahawks’ key additions
• QB Sam Darnold: Three-year, $100.5 million deal (plus $10 million in incentives)
• WR Cooper Kupp: Three-year, $45 million deal
• DE DeMarcus Lawrence: Three-year, $42 million deal
• Seahawks’ 2025 free-agency tracker
Seahawks’ key positions of need
Offensive line: Earlier in the offseason, Schneider referred to the offensive line as the team’s biggest deficiency. Charles Cross is a very talented left tackle, and Abe Lucas is an equally talented right tackle when healthy, though he has played just 13 games over the past two years due to a knee issue (which has since been resolved, Schneider said). The interior of Seattle’s offensive line, meanwhile, features several young and inexpensive yet unproven players. The Seahawks must come out of this draft with at least one, if not two, starting-caliber players up front.
Wide receiver: Seattle replaced DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett with 31-year-old Kupp on a three-year contract and 30-year-old Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a one-year deal. The team also signed 30-year-old River Cracraft and Steven Sims, who is mostly a return specialist. Seattle needs to draft pass catchers who can be immediately impactful in Kubiak’s offense, particularly down the field. Looking ahead, Smith-Njigba is the only receiver under 30 who is under contract beyond this season.
Cornerback: Of Seattle’s three starting cornerbacks, only Witherspoon is under contract beyond this season. The Seahawks used a 2024 fifth-round pick on Nehemiah Pritchett, but he played just 144 defensive snaps and made one start as a rookie. Witherspoon, Josh Jobe and Riq Woolen are good cornerbacks, but the draft isn’t just about filling immediate needs — it’s also about planning for the future. Adding a high-upside cornerback in the draft would provide depth in 2025 and set the defense up for success in 2026 and beyond in the event that Jobe and Woolen are re-signed.
Seahawks’ draft analysis
Is GM John Schneider on the hot seat? Plus, thoughts on the draft and O-line
Seahawks roster reset: O-line help still needed, but draft priorities becoming clearer
No, the Seahawks aren’t tanking, or even rebuilding. But contending just became much harder
Seahawks big board: Prospects who could fill needs in Rounds 1-3
The Athletic’s latest mock drafts
March 25: Seahawks 7-round mock draft 2.0
Armed with more picks, Michael-Shawn Dugar moves around the draft board to land two first-rounders.
March 24: New first-round mock
Ben Standig has the Seahawks looking to the FCS ranks for help along the O-line.
March 20: Beat writer mock draft 2.0
After a top talent slides, Michael-Shawn scoops him up at No. 18.
March 10: 3-round mock draft
Nick Baumgardner hits on a bunch of needs for the Seahawks, including offensive line, quarterback and safety.
March 4: Dane Brugler mock draft
Dane projects the Seahawks to grab a defensive playmaker in Round 1.
Feb. 13: Seahawks 7-round mock draft 1.0
Michael-Shawn gets Seattle some O-line help early, plus a developmental QB option.
(Photo of Kelvin Banks: Michael Wade / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Seattle police are urgently searching for Andrew, a 54-year-old Native man with dementia, last seen near the 14300 block of Lake City Way Northeast. Authorities urge anyone with information to call 911 immediately.
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