In the Sept. 9 Mirror was a letter from a citizen challenging Rep. Linda Kochmar’s recent ad regarding her efforts to bring “living wage jobs” to the 30th District. There appears to be a misconception regarding the difference between a “minimum” and a “living” wage job in Washington, particularly in the 30th District.
Initiative 1433, to increase the minimum wage from $9.47 to $13.50 per hour by 2020, will be on the ballot this November. Although this will be helpful for many people, it is still not considered a living-wage job for a family of four with two adults (one working) and two children. According to the living-wage calculation for King County, a living-wage for a family of four is $26.77 per hour. These are the types of living-wage jobs Kochmar has been working to bring here. The passage of the transportation revenue package – about $1.5 billion in transportation projects planned for this area – will bring prevailing wage jobs for journey-level workers at $30 per hour and up. For example, a journey-level flagger in King County makes $38.36 per hour. This information is available on the Labor and Industries website (www.lni.wa.gov/prevailingwagerates).
A minimum wage is good for a starter job, but it is not a wage to support a family. Hopefully our citizens in the 30th District will apply for apprenticeship programs through the state to work on the transportation projects. Information for these programs are on the state website at www.lni.wa.gov.
The writer stated she’d vote for Kochmar’s opponent. I’ve lived in this area virtually all of my life and was a checker for Safeway in the ’60s when it and Sears were located on the southwest corner of South 320th Street and Pacific Highway South, before the mall was built. It has always been my pleasure to support people who do their level best to support our community, regardless of their political affiliations and as long as they are persons of good character. Kochmar meets those criteria. Her opponent may be a fine person, but I’ve never seen him anywhere supporting a cause that’s near and dear to the hearts of persons in the 30th District. I would like to see that person become active in our community for a few years and then run for an election, because in the past I have seen so many candidates come to this area, probably at the bidding of party bosses, only to be here today and gone tomorrow when they’re not elected. Even our congressman, Adam Smith, for whom I’ve voted in the past, left northeast Tacoma for the Bellevue area the minute Congressional District 9 was redistricted. Kochmar has raised her family here and has served the Federal Way community for years. She’s dedicated her life to our area’s public service and is starting to gain seniority in the state House of Representatives. That’s important if we want “living wage jobs” in our district.
Dynamic people look beyond minimum wages. They are looking for good schools, good transportation, good jobs and flourishing communities when they choose where to settle down and raise their families. These are the people who, by their presence, will drive a local economy and create add-ons like decreasing crime and increasing home equity. Creating the infrastructure that attracts such people should be a goal of the 30th District, which is located between two international seaports and between a rapidly growing international airport and major highway. The latter of which is why the transportation revenue package is so important for the 30th District.
Dennis J. LaPorte, Federal Way
