Lawsuit claims Tacoma, Pierce County ran out the clock on $20 minimum wage measure

(The Center Square) – Tacoma, Pierce County and Pierce County Auditor Linda Farmer are being sued by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 367, Tacoma for All, and the Tacoma Democratic Socialists of America.

They allege in the lawsuit filed on Tuesday that the city and county did not act promptly to ensure a citizen's initiative, which aims to establish a "workers' bill of rights," appeared on the November ballot. The initiative seeks to raise the minimum wage to $20 and require advance notice for scheduling changes.

Specifically, the complaint alleges that Pierce County illegally delayed the verification of signatures for the ballot initiative, and then Tacoma used the delay to illegally run out the clock beyond the Aug. 5 deadline to place the measure on November's general election ballot.

Initiative 2 would increase Tacoma’s minimum wage from $16.66 to $20 per hour in a phased-in approach.

On Aug. 8, the Tacoma City Council unanimously voted to forward Initiative 2 to the city auditor rather than adopt it and put it on the November ballot. However, the council missed the Pierce County deadline to place the measure on the ballot by three days.

Prior to the council’s vote to send the measure to the auditor’s office, no one mentioned the missed deadline. Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards did say she had “deep concerns” about the specific implications of the resolution, including legal complexities and potential impacts that the city council still does not completely understand. City leaders were given 30 days to review the ballot initiative.

“While we have an obligation to move this to the Auditor’s Office, I just have really deep concern about its passing and its unanticipated effects on all of those who live in this community,” Woodards said during the Tacoma City Council special meeting.

A grass roots campaign led by UFCW 367 submitted more than 10,000 Tacoma resident signatures to have the measure placed on the November ballot. According to the complaint, the county auditor did not begin validating the signatures until 13 days after being first submitted. It then took two days to validate the petition signatures.

The Pierce County Superior Court is being asked to order the ballot initiative to be placed on the November ballot.

In a statement put out on Wednesday, UFCW 367 President Michael Hines alleged that local leaders are “openly colluding with big business to silence working people” by hiding behind technicalities.

This is also not the first time a citizen-led ballot measure has faced such hardships. In 2023, Tacoma placed a competitive ballot measure against Tacoma for All’s Landlord Fairness Code Initiative. However, the grassroots measure ultimately passed. The Citizen Action Defense Fund then filed a lawsuit against the city over the initiative, alleging that it violates the state and federal constitutions and all of its provisions and makes it more difficult for the city’s rental market to exist.

A ruling has yet to be made on the lawsuit.

A court review hearing for The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 367 vs. Pierce County is scheduled for Dec. 5.