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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 2014)
Street roots Jan. 17,2014 Solidarity in city salaries Seattle’s new council m em ber ponies up her own paycheck toward the $15 minimum-wage movement BY AARON BURKHALTER CO N TR IB UTIN G WRITER shama Sawant took her oath of office Jan. 6 in front of hundreds at Seattle City Hall. She plans to take home an “average worker’s wage” and donate the rest of her $120,000 annual salary to a campaign to create a $15-an-hour minimum wage and other social-justice causes. Kshama Sawant took the same oath of office as fellow Seattle City Councilmembers Sally Bagshaw, Nick Licata and Mike Forecast Council. The pay goes up slightly O’Brien when she was sworn in Jan 6. But each year, but never goes down, Ishino said. at the end of January, Seattle’s newest City councilmembers’ salaries have gone councilmember will be taking home a very up almost 25 percent from 2,005 when different salary. councilmembers made between $93,960 and Sawant intends to keep only a fraction of $96,507 before taxes. the nearly $120,000 annual salary paid to The budget includes information on how each Seattle City Councilmember and much each councilmember will receive, but donate the rest to a campaign to create a local $15-an-hour minimum wage and other , unlike other budget items, it attracts little attention. social justice causes. “It’s not discussed at all,” Ishino said. Philip Locker, Sawant’s campaign “They’re advised of what the amount will manager, said her office will be accountable be, and it becomes part of the budget that’s to local people, not corporate interests. “How could she do that if she’s taking the passed.” Seattle’s lawmakers are among the salary of a 1-percenter?” Locker said. nation’s most highly paid; public servants. Sawant declined to be interviewed for According to a 2011 study by The Pew this story. Locker said she was too busy Charitable Trusts Philadelphia Research with inaugural activities. K U7 website to show where she donates a portion of her salary, Locker said. What Sawant will keep and where she will donate her money is being determined, he said. The median household income in ... Seattle is $63,470, according to theU.S. Census. Sawant won’t be the first to redistribute her city earnings. Other Seattle councilmembers already donate a portion of their salary, but do so quietly, said councilmember Sally Bagshaw. Bagshaw said before taking office in 2009, she decided to donate a portion of her salary, but she declined to say how much she donates. “You’d be shocked at how much money Thus fay, councilmenxbers’ salaries, have Deen a non-issue. Sawant’s move could put; Initiative, members of the Los Angeles City Comrcilmake the most, "at $178^789. At we (councilmembers) give away,” Bagshaw said. council pay at the center of the debate over economic inequality. The Seattle City Council setsits salary each year as it finalizes the budget, said Eric Ishino, finance manager for the city’s legislative department. The salaries are based on information collected from the Puget Sound Economic Forecaster and the Washington State Economic and Revenue nearly $120,000 per year, Seattle councilmembers take home more than their counterparts in Boston and Chicago. “It’s a scandal,” Locker said. Portland city commissioners make about $100,000. When Sawant accepts her first paycheck this month, she will set up a fund to support social justice movements and launch a Sawant, a Seattle Central Community College economics professor, beat 16-year incumbent Richard Conlin with an Oceupy- inspired campaign platform of securing a $15-an-hour minimum wage and decrying corporate politics at city hall. Oregon Opportunity Vve Network Please join, us on Thursday, January 30 at noon in downtown Portland for a public forum with Housing Commissioner Dan Saltzman and Portland Housing Bureau Director Traci Manning. This is an important opportunity to hear Dan and Traci's vision for affordable housing and the challenges and opportunities in the year ahead. Portland Public Forum with Commissioner Dan Saltzman and Portland Housing Bureau Director Traci Manning Thursday, January 30,2014 Noon -1:15 pm (doors open at 11:30) First Unitarian Church, Buchan Room, 1226 SW Salmon Street, Portland 97204 The forum is free and open to alf. This is a brown-bag event - bring your lunch; water, coffee and cookies provided. These forums are part of an ongoing series provided by Oregon Opportunity Network through a grant from Portland Housing Bureau. Vendors are regular contributors to Street Roots’ content, as columnists, poets a n d artists. Look fo r your favorite vendor’s writings in each edition o f the paper. Seattle City Council member-elect K sham a Saw ant addresses the crowd d uring a rally to raise the hourly m in im u m wage to $15 fo r fast-food workers a t City H all in Seattle. REUTERS/DAVID RYDER R eprinted fro m R eal Change Newspaper, Seattle, Wash. n PAID TRAINING p u r FOR PEOPLE WITH N orthwest disab |L|T| es ! Beyond Limitations" 5312 NE 148th Ave. Portland, OR 97230 REQUIREMENTS: / Pass a drug lest / Must be at least 18 ✓ Must be able to provide documentation of a disability / Fluency in English < Clean background check QUESTIONS? Please call (503) 261 -1266 or (800)874-7917 email: dcherry@phcnw.com
