What The Seattle Times Thinks About The New $15 Per Hour Minimum Wage And Franchises

The Seattle Times editorial team recently wrote about the new minimum wage law (that $15 an hour one) that just got passed in the city of Seattle.

There have actually been several op-eds written by their staff about the new law. All of them are well-written and very well-thought out.

This headline-and the sub-headline won me over:

Editorial: Redefine franchises under Seattle’s minimum-wage proposal

The Seattle $15 minimum wage proposal punishes locally-owned franchises in a wrongheaded pursuit of fast food CEOs, who undoubtedly couldn’t give a rip.

Nice wordsmithing, editorial staff, including Kate Riley, Frank A. Blethen, Ryan Blethen, Jonathan Martin, Sharon Pian Chan, Lance Dickie, Erik Smith,  Thanh Tan, William K. Blethen (emeritus) and Robert C. Blethen (emeritus).

What The Seattle Times Thinks About The New $15 Minimum Wage And Franchises

The editorial boards feels that franchises-all 1700 of them in Seattle, are being treated unjustly. I do, too. Read this letter now.

Here’s an important paragraph from The Seattle Times op-ed, speaking about the pro-higher-wage-movement:

“And contrary to the rhetoric from the $15 wage movement, these businesses are not arms of corporations. Franchises have their own tax ID numbers and payroll — they are independent business units separate from the franchiser. Typical agreements offer franchises a brand, a business model, some marketing and bulk buying power. In exchange, franchises pay about 4 to 7 percent of their gross profits back to the franchiser.”

That’s right: Franchisees pay a percentage of their gross sales to the franchisor. Every month.

And, franchisees are not 500 employee organizations-for the most part.

(There are some multi-unit franchisees-ones with 100+ units who have 500+ employees, but it’s not the norm, people…or rather, elected officials of the fine city of Seattle.)

The editorial board over at The Seattle Times, a Pulitzer-winning publication, is right on the money.

I hope the Mayor of Seattle gets The Seattle Times delivered.

And, reads it.

Here is the entire editorial.
 

More On The $15 An Hour Minimum Wage In Seattle

The Mayor of Seattle just wrote this for USA Today

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Buying A Franchise?
You're Going To Need This!

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My friend, Carol Tice, wrote a good one on this topic on Forbes.com.

ABC is covering this story.

Read what Brookings has to say.

What do you think?

Does the minimum wage need to be raised?

Are franchise businesses corporations or local businesses?