— Two men have been arrested and charged in connection to the kidnapping
were both charged this week with kidnapping
and attempted murder in King County Superior Court
Sanabria and Arnaez-Gutierrez kidnapped the woman from an apartment complex in Burien on January 21 around 10 p.m
Investigators said the pair forced the woman into a car and fired a gun during a struggle
“They used a power drill to drill into (the victim’s) hand to get access to her cell phone and bank accounts,” investigators from the King County Sheriff’s Office wrote in an arrest report
“They then threatened her by telling her they were going to kill her
feed her to the bears and dump her body far away.”
the pair then drove the woman to Kittitas County and shot her on the side of I-90
“They shot her on a mountain pass and left her for dead,” the arrest report states
The woman waited 15 minutes before climbing over a retaining wall and flagging down help
She was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment and provided an interview to detectives
the woman said she believed the men thought they had killed her when they shot her
“(Victim)stated she ducked and was struck in the shoulder,” charging documents state
“(Victim) believes the suspect thought he had hit her in the head
(victim) climbed over what was later described as a jersey barrier and flagged down a passerby."
The King County Sheriff’s Office enlisted the help of the FBI to investigate the case
The week after the kidnapping and shooting
police located Sanabria’s car at a motel in Illinois
Investigators conducted surveillance and matched Sanabria to surveillance video showing the kidnapping suspects in Washington
and authorities executed a search warrant on his hotel room in Illinois
investigators found stolen jewelry belonging to the woman who was kidnapped and shot
Sanabria stated that he participated in the kidnapping
robbery and killing of the ‘lady’ known investigators as (victim),” the arrest report states
Arnaez-Gutierrez was arrested earlier this week during a traffic stop by Mercer Island Police
“The facts of this case demonstrate a sophistication and pre-planning and a level of violence that is alarming,” King County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jennifer Phillips wrote
Arnaez is being held on a bail of $1 million in the King County Jail
He is scheduled for arraignment on April 24
Sanabria is also in the King County Jail with a bail of $ 1 million
He pleaded not guilty to the charges at an arraignment earlier this year
Statement from FBI Special Agent in Charge W
“The FBI routinely supports law enforcement with investigative assistance when requested and we were proud to partner with the King County Sheriff’s Office in this matter
The FBI brings a number of resources to an investigation to include personnel
Combatting violent crime in the communities where we live and work is one of the top priorities for the FBI.”
robbed and shot a 58-year-old Burien woman in January
then left her for dead on the side of Interstate 90 in Kittitas County
Over the course of the monthslong investigation
detectives assigned to the King County sheriff’s office’s major crimes unit traveled to Oregon
working with other local law enforcement agencies and the FBI
30 at a motel in a suburb south of Chicago
nine days after the woman was grabbed and forced into a car outside her apartment complex
Charged with attempted first-degree murder
Ojeda was extradited back to Washington and booked into the King County Jail on Feb
20; he pleaded not guilty to the charges a week later and remains in custody in lieu of $1 million bail
Mercer Island police arrested Alexander Moises Arnaez Gutierrez
during a traffic stop last week and he too was charged Friday with attempted murder
Gutierrez is also being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned April 24
Detectives have identified a third suspect and the investigation into his involvement is ongoing
It isn’t clear in charging documents why the woman was targeted
but it appears at least one of the men had been watching her in the days before the abduction and knew her schedule
when one of the woman’s neighbors called 911 to request a welfare check at the Park Des Moines Apartments in the 10000 block of Des Moines Memorial Drive South in Burien
The neighbor reported that another neighbor had heard the woman screaming for help and found her hat in the parking lot
A deputy arrived at the complex but didn’t find any obvious signs of a disturbance
But the deputy spoke to a witness who had seen two unknown men hanging out in the parking lot and reported hearing a gunshot and a woman’s screams
The neighbor who called 911 then told the deputy she had received word that the 58-year-old victim had been shot and was at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center
was notified by dispatchers that the Kittitas County sheriff’s office had requested a welfare check at the woman’s Burien apartment after she flagged someone down and was found with gunshot wounds near milepost 57 on eastbound Interstate 90
The woman was later interviewed at Harborview and told investigators she was on the phone with her daughter when she got home around 8 p.m
and saw two men smoking cigarettes outside her apartment while a third sat in the driver’s seat of a parked car
the men reportedly told her they had been waiting for her and forced her onto the floorboards in the back seat of the parked car at gunpoint
The woman told police she screamed and fought and one of the men shot at her but missed before she was shoved into the car
kicked her head and used their feet to pin her down
and stole her purse with $20,000 worth of gold and jewelry inside
They then drilled into her hand with a power drill to make her give them the PIN to her bank card and the code to her cellphone to access her bank information
The woman told investigators the men stopped at a gas station to confirm she had given them the correct PIN
which was later corroborated with bank and cellphone records that showed the men stopped at a gas station in Bellevue
where one of them withdrew $40 from her account
After repeatedly threatening to kill her and her family
the woman told police the men drove east on Interstate 90 then pulled over
where they took the woman out of the car and threw her over a jersey barrier
She said the same man who shot at her in the parking lot of her apartment complex — later identified as Odeja — shot at her again
The woman told investigators she believes the man thought he had shot her in the head but she ducked
She climbed back over the barrier and flagged someone down for help
Cigarette butts found outside the woman’s apartment were collected as evidence
as was a 9-mm shell casing found near a pool of blood on the side of the freeway
sheriff’s deputies determined her Hyundai Elantra was not at her apartment complex
leading investigators to believe the suspects had doubled back to Burien to steal her vehicle
A camera in Des Moines captured an image of the Elantra’s license plate at the time the woman was being treated at Harborview
video surveillance footage and hits from license plate readers allowed investigators to track the suspects back to Burien and Seattle and then south on Interstate 5 to Tigard
Her Elantra was ultimately found by police in Lake Oswego
half a mile west of Ojeda’s last known address
Investigators also got a hit from a license plate reader to a Chevy Malibu registered to Ojeda on Jan
showing its location at a Red Roof Inn in Lansing
FBI agents arrested Ojeda at the motel the next day and found jewelry belonging to the woman inside his room along with a 9-mm handgun
investigators found a phone that belonged to Gutierrez
with cellphone and social media records leading them to determine he was the driver of the vehicle the woman was forced into and that he was later seen in video footage as a rear passenger in Ojeda’s Malibu
Detectives also flew to Texas to interview a man who wasn’t involved in the kidnapping and robbery but had accompanied Ojeda to the Chicago area and was given some of the victim’s jewelry
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Some workers in Burien might soon see their paychecks increase
a citizen initiative to expand Burien’s minimum wage policy
was leading after the second round of ballot counting on Wednesday with 55% of voters in support
Measure 1 will replace a minimum wage policy recently adopted by the Burien City Council with a new version that increases the number of businesses required to pay a full minimum wage
The City Council’s law raised the wage floor to $21.16 when it went into effect at the start of this year
But initiative supporters argued that the city’s law didn’t represent a true wage increase because it came with a number of exceptions that allowed some businesses to continue paying less — for instance
those with small staffs and ones where employees get tips
Measure 1 would remove many of those exemptions
It would also tie Burien’s minimum wage to that of the neighboring jurisdiction of Tukwila
where the wage cap is currently $21.10 and set to increase with inflation
“It just means that more people in our community are going to make a better living wage,” Jennifer Fichamba
a Burien resident who helped lead the Measure 1 campaign
The initiative to get Measure 1 on the ballot was led by the Transit Riders Union
a progressive advocacy group that in recent years has led successful campaigns to raise the wage floor in nearby jurisdictions like SeaTac and Tukwila
Many business owners opposed the initiative
supporting the City Council’s law and arguing that the exemptions were necessary to protect small employers
The City Council’s law allows businesses to count an employee’s tips and benefits toward an employee’s total wage
It also allows businesses with fewer than 20 employees working within King County to continue paying a wage as low as the state’s $16.66 minimum
Measure 1 will remove the carveout for tips and benefits
It will also change how business sizes are calculated: “Small” businesses with fewer than 15 employees total (not just in King County) will pay $18.10 an hour
and “medium” businesses with 15 to 499 employees will pay $19.10 an hour
Businesses with more than 500 employees will pay the full $21.10
businesses of all sizes in Burien will be held to the same wage standard
Measure 1 would also expand an employee’s right to take private legal action if they believe their employer isn’t compliant
and create a new rule that says businesses have to offer available hours to existing employees before hiring new ones
The idea of raising the wage may also be a topic in Olympia this year. A group of House Democrats are backing House Bill 1764
which would raise the state’s minimum wage by $1.50 each year until it reaches $25 by the start of 2031
would reduce exceptions for smaller businesses and carveouts for tips and benefits
A sign in downtown Burien urging voters to vote No on Initiative 1
which would remove several exemptions from Burien’s current minimum wage law and align wage-floor requirements with those of the nearby city of Tukwila
Burien voters will decide if they want to stick with the city’s recently adopted minimum wage policy or replace it with a version that would remove a number of exemptions for small businesses and make more workers eligible for pay increases.
When the Burien City Council’s minimum wage law went into effect on Jan. 1, it raised the wage to $21.16. City officials touted the figure as the “highest in the nation,” but advocates say that’s misleading
as the city’s law contains a number of exceptions that allow some businesses to continue paying the $16.66 state minimum wage
Labor groups and activists are backing Measure 1
11 ballot initiative which would remove many of those exemptions
It would tie Burien’s minimum wage to that of the neighboring jurisdiction of Tukwila
with the minimum wage the city of Burien passed
most workers in Burien are not getting a raise,” said Jennifer Fichamba
a Burien resident who is helping lead the Measure 1 campaign.
Many local businesses supported the City Council’s minimum wage law
which passed in March last year and was amended to reflect a slightly higher wage in October
shortly after the initiative qualified for the ballot
Many of those business owners are now rallying in opposition to Measure 1
a Burien resident who owns a marketing company
He described the City Council’s minimum wage law as a thoughtful compromise
and argued that the exemptions Measure 1 seeks to eliminate are necessary to protect small businesses that can’t afford to pay workers the full rate.
The City Council’s law “was the result of one year of working with everybody to try to find some balance,” Papczun said
“There’s absolutely exceptions here in this thing
The initiative campaign to get Measure 1 on the ballot was led by the Transit Riders Union
a progressive advocacy group that has campaigned to increase the minimum wage in other local jurisdictions in recent years
The debate over the Burien proposal is similar to the discussions in other cities
with businesses issuing dire warnings about being forced to close and advocates arguing that cost-of-living increases necessitate better wages
Under the law adopted by the Burien City Council
businesses with fewer than 20 full-time employees are exempt and allowed to continue paying workers the $16.66-an-hour state minimum.
Burien workplaces with 20-500 employees working within King County’s borders are classified as “medium” and have to pay only $20.16 an hour
no matter how many employees the company has nationwide
Local franchise owners with fewer than 500 employees also don’t count as a large business
even if they’re part of a franchise network.
Businesses with over 500 employees in King County are required to pay the full $21.16 an hour
Unlike other Washington jurisdictions with wage floors higher than the state’s
Burien’s minimum wage law lets employers count tips and benefits like health care to make up the $4.50 difference between its minimum wage and the state’s
Papczun argued that letting employers count benefits and tips toward the total creates an incentive for employers to offer benefits
He also thinks workers would ultimately lose income if tips weren’t included.
“It’s been in our mindset forever that if you go to a restaurant
these people make their money off tips; if we take that away from people’s mindset then they’re going to tip less,” Papczun said
She said counting tips and benefits toward compensation creates a “convoluted” system in which it’s hard for an employee to understand if they are getting a raise
which could lead to a worker ultimately earning less.
The Economic Opportunity Institute, a local policy advocacy group that contributed $1,422 in in-kind donations to the Measure 1 campaign, used census data to estimate that the city’s ordinance leaves 47% of people “working in Burien under a reduced wage standard.”
The Institute estimated that 71% of Burien establishments are classified as “small” under the City Council’s law
and described Burien’s minimum wage policy as “far weaker than other minimum wage laws in Washington.”
A Burien city spokesperson told The Seattle Times last month that the city doesn’t have its own estimate for how many workers are impacted by the ordinance
The city did not immediately respond to Cascade PBS/KNKX by publication time
Fichamba criticized the city for sending mailers and buying advertisements that tout the Council’s minimum wage law as the “highest in the nation.”
“There’s so many exceptions in the wage that [the city] passed that maybe a handful of people are getting a raise
“I think people are now just starting to realize ‘What
I thought I was supposed to be making $21 and change now
Measure 1 would remove the carve-out for tips and benefits and change how businesses are classified
“Small” businesses with fewer than 15 employees would have to pay $18.10 an hour; “medium” businesses with 15-499 employees total (not just in King County) would have to pay $19.10 an hour
Businesses with 500 employees or more would pay the full $21.10
It would also treat connected franchises like McDonalds as one business.
Measure 1 would also create a three-year phase-in period for medium businesses and a six-year phase-in for small businesses
all businesses in Burien would be held to the same wage standard
Papczun thinks small businesses can’t afford to pay more
He said Burien has a large number of immigrant-owned restaurants and shops that operate on thin margins
and that many have told him they might have to make cuts or close if they’re forced to pay more
“We’re afraid that this comes into play and they’re just forced to make some tough decisions,” Papczun said
“What sometimes folks don’t understand is that without these people in these communities
“It’s not the minimum wage that’s going to cost businesses more
it’s going to be the cost of food,” Fichamba said
“If you’re having trouble running your business and raising a wage is going to make it harder for you
you might need to evaluate how you’re running your business.”
Papczun also has concerns about tying Burien’s minimum wage to Tukwila’s
He thinks it’s undemocratic and will erode local control
“We really just want to be comparable to our surrounding communities,” Fichamba said
“Because a lot of our people are making choices to go and work in places where their wage is higher.”
The “Raise the Wage Burien” committee has reported raising $46,768 in campaign contributions
It has support from labor and activist groups like SEIU 775
Washington Bus and the Washington Community Action network.
Meinert denied the allegations and has never been prosecuted
Papczun said he worries Measure 1 will pass because the idea gives people a “warm fuzzy” feeling
and because similar measures have passed with big margins in other jurisdictions.
“You’re voting for people to get a little bit more money
that’s an easy sell if you don’t understand the details,” he said.
Fichamba used to work in Tukwila as a school guidance counselor
When 82% of Tukwila residents voted to raise the city’s minimum wage in 2022
she said it had a big impact on the families she worked with
Parents were able to spend more time with their kids
I’d want to make sure that my employees were paid fairly,” Fichamba said
“That they would be able to live in Burien and not have to work multiple jobs in order to survive.”
Clarification 1:52 p.m.: This story has been amended to clarify that the Economic Opportunity Institute's $1,422 contribution to the Measure 1 campaign was in in-kind donations
and that the Washington Bus also made an in-kind donation.
The new year brings expanded paid sick leave
more safety regulations and additional rules of the road
Here are 12 new policies that will come into effect in 2024
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Nate Sanford is a reporter for Cascade PBS and KNKX. A Murrow news fellow, he covers policy and political power dynamics with an emphasis on the issues facing young adults in Washington. Get in touch at nate.sanford@cascadepbs.org or on X @sanford_nate
As Republican legislators opt for ballot harvesting
Democrats lean into town halls in predominantly red districts to engage new or reluctant voters
A citizen-initiated ballot measure to raise Burien’s minimum wage for workers at large employers to $21.10 an hour was leading Tuesday night based on early results from the special election.
The measure would also end exemptions in the city’s ordinance that advocates say have resulted in few people seeing a pay increase
It would take effect 30 days after the election is certified
campaign coordinator for the Raise the Wage Burien
called the early results “decisive.”
“We’re definitely in a moment when a lot of people are struggling to pay rent and put food on the table,” Wilson said
“We really hope this will just put more dollars in the pockets of working families
and make people’s lives easier.”
Measure 1 would also raise the wage floor at midsize employers (businesses with 16 to 500 workers) to $19.10 an hour
increasing a dollar each year until it matches the big-business rate. The small-business rate would become $18.10 an hour and increase by 50 cents annually over a seven-year phase-in period
Backed by labor groups and community activists, the ballot initiative would replace the City Council-approved minimum compensation ordinance that took effect Jan
which organizers said includes several carve-outs that result in few workers seeing a raise.
under the city’s current wage policy
local franchise owners with fewer than 500 full-time equivalent workers are not classified as a large business even if they’re part of a multinational network
Midsize companies pay workers $3.50 over the state’s minimum wage
and small businesses are exempt entirely.
City officials have touted the current minimum wage ordinance as the nation’s highest minimum wage in mailers and blog posts
arguing it balanced the needs of workers while mitigating economic effects for local employers
have called the claim of the country’s highest minimum wage misleading because of the exceptions.
grocery store employees with health care benefits and workers at fast-food chains haven’t seen a boost in take-home pay under the city’s wage policy
tips and benefits would not be counted toward wage increases
and franchise stores in large networks would count as large employers
The Raise the Wage Burien committee raised nearly $137,000 over the course of its campaign
receiving donations from labor groups and advocacy organizations including the UFCW Active Ballot Club
the Washington Community Action Network and the Transit Riders Union.
The opposition campaign, Vote No for Burien, raised $5,400
including $2,000 from the Washington Retail Association and smaller contributions from local restaurant owners.
Though the Tukwila minimum wage ordinance in 2022 faced no formal opposition campaign
business groups spent more than $150,000 fighting the Renton measure last year
and nearly $73,000 supporting a business-backed alternative minimum wage proposal.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the minimum wage rates for medium and small employers under Measure 1
Medium and small employers would be required to pay $19.10 and $18.10
The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times
Burien created an outright prohibition on living outside in the city Monday
The city already had one of the most restrictive bans on camping
Officials have removed allowances for sleeping based on time and place and a requirement that police offer people a shelter bed before enforcing it
people in Burien can be arrested for sleeping outside even if there are no alternate places for them to go
passed as an emergency ordinance in a 5-2 vote
The latest chapter in Burien’s dizzying homelessness saga is an indication of how far the region and country have shifted toward policies that push homeless people out of sight rather than help them move inside
Seattle recently began using arrests and street cleanings to push people away from certain parts of the city
At least seven other jurisdictions in Washington created or expanded camping bans in the last year including Auburn
Supreme Court last June ruled that punishing people for sleeping outside was not “cruel or unusual.” Across the country
more than 140 cities have passed similar regulations
according to the National Homelessness Law Center
“This is faster than we anticipated,” said Jesse Rabinowitz
communications and campaign director for the National Homelessness Law Center
“It shows cities can move quickly when they want to
I just wish they wanted to move quickly to help people and not harm them.”
Rabinowitz said he expected the situation to get worse with the Trump administration’s plans to cut government services
possibly pushing more people into homelessness and the president’s stated intention to “ban urban camping” and open up “tent cities.”
Leaders in Burien framed the camping ban as a compassionate policy
saying it could push people to seek shelter and treatment
They said the cold snap with freezing temperatures this past week made it urgent for them to bring people inside
“Many people believe that keeping people in tents is a housing solution
I do not and will not support this inhumane way of treating people,” said Councilmember Linda Akey who voted in favor of the camping ban
There are few options for homeless people in Burien to get inside
a nine-bed shelter for women and a cold-weather shelter that opens when temperatures are freezing but no year-round shelter for single men
Shelters in other cities around the county are full
was one of dozens of homeless people who stayed in the city’s cold-weather shelter Tuesday night
But with the shelter closed Wednesday night with temperatures at 33 degrees
Tosch said he didn’t know where he would go
or we want to stay outside and stay in tents and stuff
They have no idea how far from true that is
Tosch said the city is cracking down on homeless people in other ways
He was arrested for public drug use a few weeks ago
He said he was only holding a torch lighter
Court and jail records show he spent a night at South Correctional Entity but wasn’t charged with any crime.
King County sheriffs arrested 331 people in Burien for drug-related offenses in 2024
more than four times the number they arrested in 2023
extremely obvious that the police are a lot more active
and they’re cracking down and being a lot more harsh,” Tosch said
which provides contracted police services for Burien
had not been enforcing the city’s existing camping ban
saying the ordinance contained vague language
who cast one of two votes against the updated camping ban
“We’re authorizing our law enforcement officers to send people essentially to nowhere,” Moore said
it wasn’t clear this was where Burien’s homelessness policy would end up
When the city began mulling what to do about a homeless encampment that formed in front of City Hall more than two years ago
people around the region watched to see what kind of example Burien would set for other suburbs near Seattle
many of which have seen homelessness grow within their borders in recent years
City officials and residents at first suggested solutions that would avoid arrest or displacement
When Burien began taking steps to remove homeless encampments
King County tried to nudge the city toward providing services
offering $1 million in the summer of 2023 to build new shelter units
Officials in Burien said they could do both. By August 2023
they appeared to be moving toward both a camping ban and building new shelter units with the county’s funding
But the city slow-rolled shelter plans
with myriad concerns arising for each potential location
saying it appeared Burien was not going to add a shelter
Meanwhile, the city passed its camping ban in September 2023 and has since updated it twice to make it stricter and more expansive
City Attorney Garmon Newsom noted Burien had backed a permanent supportive housing development for homeless people in the city and an expansion of its family shelter
“It’s not like Burien doesn’t do anything in support,” Newsom said
King County shifted from trying to nudge Burien to trying to block it.
saying camping bans did not violate the Eighth Amendment prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment
a federal judge threw out King County’s lawsuit
King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall said Tuesday that Burien’s updated camping ban was enforceable
I am asking the men and women of the King County Sheriff’s Office to continue to lead
with outreach and compassion while continuing to engage with regional service providers whenever appropriate,” Cole-Tindall said
Burien’s camping ban allows police to offer people shelter if they choose
who has been living outside in Burien for a few years
heard the city updated its camping ban to apply regardless of whether shelter space was available
Homeless people and advocates are hoping states will offer more protections against camping bans than the federal government.
Disability Rights Oregon sued Grants Pass on Thursday
Supreme Court case on homeless camping bans
The advocacy group accused it of violating a state law requiring cities’ camping regulations to be “objectively reasonable.”
Burien is still being sued by several homeless people who claim the city’s camping bam “banishes” homeless people and inflicts “cruel punishment” that violates Washington’s Constitution.
the president and Burien’s City Council seeming aligned
— King County deputies are investigating after someone was shot several times in Burien early Wednesday
Deputies and a King County Medic One ambulance swarmed the scene at S 150th St and 1st Ave S
A KOMO News photojournalist at the scene saw a car with several bullet holes in its side
Firefighters and medics have since left the scene
but a heavy police presence remained an hour later
The shooting victim was taken to Harborview Medical Center
There is no word on possible suspects or the victim’s condition
Organizers behind Burien’s minimum wage ballot initiative say the city has been using public funds to mislead residents and drum up opposition to the measure
which will come before voters in a February special election.
If approved, Measure 1 would replace the City Council-approved minimum compensation ordinance that took effect this month
The measure would raise the minimum wage for workers at large employers to $21.10 an hour
matching Tukwila’s rate and ending exemptions in the city’s ordinance that advocates say have resulted in few people seeing a pay increase
Supporters of the ballot initiative say the city’s actions in recent months — writing ballot descriptors that organizers called biased and sending out printed mailers and buying digital ads about the city ordinance that supporters say lack clarity — are all aimed at confusing voters and persuading them that its existing law is sufficient.
city spokesperson Devin Chicras said “All messaging and outreach efforts have been accurate and conducted in accordance with the law.” Chicras noted that printed mailers and digital ads “are two key tools the City uses frequently to inform the community about new laws that may impact them.”
Raise the Wage Burien campaign coordinator Katie Wilson said the city’s role in a citizen initiative is supposed to be “a procedural one and a neutral one.”
“It just seems very clear that Burien’s mayor
city manager and city attorney are very opposed to our initiative and have been acting to undermine it in ways that we think is not appropriate for city officials.”
Under the current ordinance
which the council approved in March and updated in October
1 large businesses now pay workers $4.50 over the state’s minimum wage
An analysis by the Economic Opportunity Institute this month estimated about 47% of people who work in Burien would not see that $21.16 hourly rate because they are employed either at small businesses (which are exempt from the city’s ordinance) or at businesses with 21 to 499 full-time equivalents
The city of Burien does not have its own estimate for how many workers are impacted by the ordinance
Business leaders have largely supported the City Council-approved ordinance
saying it strikes the right balance of mitigating impacts to employers while acknowledging the need for a wage increase.
Those “carve-outs” mean few workers are actually seeing a difference in pay this year beyond the state’s 38-cent minimum wage bump from 2024
who is also general secretary of the Transit Riders Union.
“I can’t think of a single employer in Burien where I’m 100% confident that their workers would have to be paid that ($21.16 rate) because there are so many exceptions and loopholes,” Wilson said
part of a wave of localities in the region seeing higher wage floors to address the rising cost of living.
The Measure 1 initiative qualified for the ballot in September
the minimum wage for large employers would be $21.10 an hour
The minimum wage for midsize employers (businesses with 16 to 500 workers) would be $18.10 an hour and increase a dollar each year until it matches the big-business rate
The small-business rate would be $17.10 an hour
and increase by 50 cents annually over a seven-year phase-in period
Tips and benefits could not be counted toward wage increases
“We want to make sure anyone who’s working a full-time job can pay their rent,” Wilson said
Every worker in Burien must be paid at least the same minimum wage.”
Organizers said they’ve been receiving major pushback from the city over the initiative for months.
After the citizen-led initiative qualified in September, Burien City Council in October upped the compensation requirement in its ordinance to $4.50 and $3.50 over the state’s minimum wage for large and midsize employers
respectively — a move organizers believe was intentionally made to undermine their proposed measure.
the city sent mailers out across the city stating “Nation’s Highest Minimum Wage APPROVED October 28
2024.” The city also purchased digital ads promoting its city ordinance in local media outlets
None of the messaging notes that tips and health care can be used to cover the increase above the state’s minimum wage.
Organizers say the city’s actions reflect attempts to persuade voters against the ballot initiative by suggesting Burien’s minimum compensation ordinance is not only adequate
a Burien resident and supporter of Measure 1
filed a complaint against the city in December alleging the city violated state laws with its mailers and ads
Hinton said a representative at the state Public Disclosure Commission told her upon investigating the complaint that it’s unlikely the city broke the law
The commission has not yet released a formal decision on the complaint
“I just think the city is being disingenuous,” Hinton said
“I really question it and their use of resources.”
It’s unclear how many mailers were distributed
though organizers believe most residents in Burien received one
Chicras said in a statement that how much the city spent on its messaging campaign is not immediately known
Ballots will be sent to Burien voters at the end of January
The city of Burien is suing the organizers behind a recently approved ballot measure raising the minimum wage
claiming the initiative is unconstitutional and should not be enforced.
Measure 1, which set the wage floor for workers at large businesses to $21.10 an hour, was approved with about 57.2% of the vote during a special election this month
The initiative is set to take effect at the end of March.
The city is seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction that would halt the adoption and enforcement of the measure
The citizen-led initiative challenged the city’s minimum wage ordinance that took effect Jan
which raised the total compensation at large businesses to $21.16 an hour
Advocates said that city wage policy — first approved by the Burien City Council last March and updated in October — included major exemptions that resulted in few workers seeing a pay increase.
The city filed its lawsuit Tuesday against the advocacy group Transit Riders Union and its general secretary Katie Wilson
The group was among the community organizations and labor unions that supported the Raise the Wage Burien campaign
In its complaint filed in King County Superior Court
the city argued Burien businesses are now subject to two minimum wage laws because the two laws “expressly do not supersede one another.”
Burien has received numerous calls from local business owners confused about the applicable minimum wage in Burien,” the complaint stated.
The city is asking a judge to determine Measure 1 is unconstitutionally vague and exceeds initiative power
that the initiative shouldn’t apply because the city’s law already offers “greater wages and compensation,” the complaint said.
The lawsuit marks the latest legal battle over Burien’s minimum wage
Organizers threatened to sue the city late last year over the City Council-approved ballot language
which they said contained false and prejudicial statements
The city and organizers ultimately settled and the initiative’s description on the ballot was amended
Raise the Wage Burien organizer Artie Nosrati said the City Council majority
city manager Adolfo Bailon and city attorney Garmon Newsom II have “a history of acting against the interests of their city.”
“This is a concerted effort to stop workers from getting a raise,” Nosrati said in a statement
“We’re confident the courts will uphold our initiative and do what’s right for Burien workers.”
The city argued in its complaint Measure 1 backers “went to exceptional lengths to suggest and imply that Burien had no minimum wage at all,” confusing voters.
Raise the Wage Burien organizers said during the campaign they had not heard of any workers receiving a pay boost above the state’s $16.66 minimum wage after the city’s wage policy took effect because of significant carve-outs
Local franchise owners with fewer than 500 full-time equivalent workers are not classified as a large business even if they’re part of a multinational network
Under Measure 1
large businesses in Burien must match the minimum wage for large employers in the city of Tukwila
Midsize employers must pay the same rate minus $2 an hour
and increase a dollar each year until it matches the big-business rate
Small businesses must pay the same rate minus $3 an hour
The initiative does not allow tips or benefits to be used to cover the wage hike
and franchise locations that are part of multinational networks with more than 500 workers globally count as a large business under the measure.
The city argued the initiative failed to provide notice of the intent to repeal an existing ordinance
and criticized it as “effectively outsourcing Burien’s minimum wage to Tukwila … which outsources to another municipality.”
Tukwila’s large employer minimum wage rate is tied to the “living wage rate” in SeaTac, a rate that only applies to hospitality and transportation workers in SeaTac
The city said in an online statement the complaint seeks to clarify Burien’s minimum wage law
City spokesperson Devin Chicras said the city could not provide additional comment on the lawsuit
by Karina Vargas
a 63-year-old man killed during a road rage incident
near the Logan Brewing Company on 510 SW 151st St in Burien
Bird was crossing the street with two friends when a white SUV allegedly failed to stop and nearly struck them
Court documents from the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office reveal that one of Bird's friends threw his keys at the vehicle
"That got the car to stop and then there was an altercation
Witnesses reported that the punches were allegedly thrown by the passenger of the vehicle
he didn’t see the punch coming so he was unable to protect himself
he was hit very hard and he went down and knocked unconscious," Williams said
Bird was taken to Harborview Medical Center
expressed her concerns about his safety due to his worsening eyesight
"He had said several times that one of these days he was going to get hit by a car or he’s going to have some problem with being at an intersection because they’re not paying attention to him," she said
Bird was a volunteer with Downtown On the Go
an organization in Tacoma advocating for safer streets and efficient transit
"He got around by walking and by taking the bus and when you get around outside of a car it is a different type of reality."
His family and friends remember Bird as a special person
"It’s hard enough when your best friend is taken from you and killed in such a violent fashion
a person who had absolutely no violence in him
happy individual," Doug Williams said
The King County Sheriff’s Office has arrested an 18-year-old in connection with Bird’s death
appeared in court where a judge found probable cause for murder in the second degree
Burien residents should vote for Measure 1 because it will actually raise pay for low-wage workers
bringing Burien’s minimum wage into alignment with neighboring cities Tukwila
Leveling wages across South King County will increase local buying power and Burien businesses’ ability to attract talent and customers
helping workers and businesses alike.
very few workers in Burien will see a meaningful increase in take home pay
In October 2024, Burien’s council passed Ordinance 855 to grant workers a $4.50 increase over state minimum wage
but did so only for employers with 500 or more full-time employees in King County
The minimum wage at employers with between 20 and 499 full-time employees would increase by $3.50 over the state minimum
and employers with fewer than 20 full-time employees would be completely exempt.
Ordinance 855 also permits employers to apply tips and employer-provided healthcare costs to the requirements beyond the state minimum wage
meaning employees already receiving $4.50 an hour in tips will not see an increase to their take-home pay.
Burien workers and businesses both deserve a law that’s easy to understand and comply with.
(The PDC summarily dismissed the claim.)
In answer to the Burien City Council’s efforts to minimize the benefits to workers, a more comprehensive minimum wage initiative gathered more than the required 4,420 signatures to qualify for the February special election
It’s clear this approach has much more popular support
The Urbanist Elections Committee consists of Angela Compton
The Urbanist hosts social hour meetups every month. In April, we’re hosting four social events and kicking off our urbanism-themed walking tours starting in Kirkland on April 26
we’ll be hosting a booth at the opening celebration at Downtown Redmond Station
Check our urbanist events calendar to see everything happening this month, including events hosted by partner organizations. You can submit your event for inclusion