Judge says no to $15 an hour minimum petition in Seatac

SEATAC, Wash. — The movement to raise minimum wage for some workers in SeaTac to 15 bucks an hour has hit a big snag.

A judge has thrown out the petition to put the issue on the November ballot, ruling the ordinance doesn't have the required number of valid signatures.

A legal complaint filed by Alaska Airlines, the Washington Restaurant Association, and other businesses, contested the legality of the petition.

Supporters of raising the minimum wage for hospitality and transportation employees, like restaurant and airport workers, were required to collect 15-hundred valid signatures to put the measure on the ballot.

But 61 people signed the petition more than once, which makes all of their signatures, including their original ones, invalid.

SeaTac city leaders and petitioners argued the 61 original signatures should still count and would be enough to put the minimum wage issue to the voters.

But the judge said it's state law to cut the original signatures too, and that means fewer than 15-hundred signatures were collected.

So, the SeaTac City Clerk has been ordered to not forward the measure on to King County Elections.

It's up in the air though, what this means for the future of this minimum wage increase movement, which has major implications for employers at SeaTac Airport, especially at the airport.

Will supporters be allowed to get more signatures and still put the initiative on the ballot?

Check back here on kirotv.com.  We plan to get an answer for you.

KIRO