Washington State minimum wage in 2022 is now $14.49. However, with inflation, rent, and the cost of living going up, the Washington State minimum wage is NOT a livable wage. Most landlords require a person to make at least 3x even to be considered an applicant. We know that COVID has made this issue worse. However, even before the pandemic, at least 1.7 million people living in Washington State do not have enough resources or income to maintain consistent housing, access food, pay bills or meet other basic needs. WE NEED ACTION NOW! Many people working minimum wage positions were considered essential workers during the pandemic. They were forced to put their lives and the lives of their loved ones at risk for the sake of society/to make sure they earned money for their employers. The minimum wage MUST translate to a livable wage, covering essential living expenses, including housing, food, transportation!

The average one-bedroom fair market rate in King County: $1,651

• Required monthly income to be approved: $4953
• A person would have to make $30.96 an hour to work 40 hours a week.
• A person making the state minimum wage ($14.49) would have to work a minimum of 85.46+ hours a week. 

The average one-bedroom fair market rate in Pierce County: $1,162

• Required monthly income to be approved: $3486
• A person would have to make $21.79 an hour to work 40 hours a week.
• A person making the state minimum wage($14.49) would have to work a minimum of 60.15+ hours a week. 

The average one-bedroom fair market rate in Thurston County: $1,076

• Required monthly income to be approved: $3228
• A person would have to make $20.18 an hour if they worked 40 hours a week.
• A person making the state minimum wage($14.49) would have to work a minimum of 55.70+ hours a week. 

The average one-bedroom fair market rate in Snohomish County: $1,651  

• Required monthly income to be approved: $4953
• A person would have to make $30.96 an hour if they worked 40 hours a week.
• A person making the state minimum wage($14.49) would have to work a minimum of 85.46+ hours a week. 

The average one-bedroom fair market rate in Kitsap County: $1,166 

• Required monthly income to be approved: $3498
• A person would have to make $21.87 an hour if they worked 40 hours a week.
• A person making the state minimum wage($14.49) would have to work a minimum of 60.36+ hours a week. 

I am completing the final year of my BASW program. I work with my field instructor, an MSW at my practicum, an emergency services agency. We do our best to reallocate our donations into assisting community members, most of whom reside in Pierce County. Every day, people share the same story they are either at risk of losing their housing due to cost or can't even afford to qualify for a place to rent. Over the last six months, Tacoma Housing Authority(THA), HOP, section 8, and other subsidized housing applications have been closed or will open up for a remarkably short period for very specific groups (households with 9+ people). This is not a realistic avenue for most people, considering the waitlist for these programs takes years to get through. The transitional/permanent housing units at Pioneer Human Services in Tacoma is approx. Three years long; this happened within a matter of months after the moratorium was lifted on October 31, 2021. 

To make matters worse unhoused people in pierce county, specifically, Tacoma, are being harassed by the police and have all their belongings thrown away by law enforcement. We must pressure our local, state, and federal officials to force them to see the housing crisis for what it is. They can't keep ordering sweeps on unhoused individuals/communities while at the same time offering no solutions to our current housing crisis, which is just getting worse due to the pandemic and how our officials handled it. A person working a job, including minimum wage workers, has the RIGHT to afford a place to live. 

Tiny homes are not enough! We need rent caps. We need the minimum wage to translate to a livable wage, increasing proportionally to inflation, cost of living, and housing. 

Contact representatives and senators to vote:

YES on: SB 5139 - 2021-22- Limiting rent increases after expiration of the governor's eviction moratorium.

YES on: HB 1441 - 2021-22- Prohibiting discrimination against prospective tenants for unpaid rent or eviction during the COVID-19 pandemic.

YES on SB 5117 - 2021-22- Concerning rental vouchers to eligible offenders.

YES on HB 1035 - 2021-22-Providing local governments with options to grant rent relief and preserve affordable housing in their communities.

YES on SB 5868 - 2021-22-Expanding the use of the rural counties public facilities sales and use tax to include affordable workforce housing.