MLK Labor is proud to give our sole endorsement for Seattle mayor to Bruce Harrell who—as a man who once threatened to defund a city labor department investigating wage theft at his men’s only club—is just the kind of labor hero this city needs right now.
When a woman who worked at the Royal Esquire Club contacted Seattle’s Office of Labor Standards about wage theft in 2018, then-City Council President and Royal Esquire Club Chair Bruce Harrell did a completely appropriate thing any champion of workers’ rights would do: He called up the woman investigating the claim and threatened to cut funding for her city department if she continued looking into it. Although he couldn’t stop the investigation that ended with the club settling the case for $11,000 in 2019, as mayor three years later he did the get the poor men’s club a $780k city grant. Now that’s a man of the men!
Speaking of men’s only clubs, Harrell’s track record as a hero for labor also includes 23% retroactive raises for the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild, a union we kicked out of our labor council in 2020 for being clearly too violent, sexist and racist to be associated with anymore.
And let’s not forget what a saint he’s been for merely not supporting recent efforts to roll back existing minimum wage laws and bare minimum gig worker protections. He could’ve been a Sara Nelson about it but he wasn’t. Wow! Our bar is so low right now!
Let’s cut straight to the chase: At a time when this country is being run by a corrupt, sexist pig, it’s more important than ever that our city also continues to be run by someone who is experienced in also being a corrupt, sexist pig. Amirite, Andrew Cuomo for NYC mayor supporters?
So, join us in not voting Katie Wilson for Seattle mayor because all she’s done is lead successful campaigns for the working class that raised the minimum wage, created new renter protections to keep more people housed, and increased progressive revenue from corporations that still aren’t anywhere near paying their fair share in taxes in this state.
