YAKIMA: Right now the minimum wage in Washington is $9.47 an hour, but many are fighting for more, they believe it isn’t a livable wage.
Several places in the state have already increased the minimum wage to $15.00 an hour and here in the Yakima Valley many people have organized rallies to help get people on board.
Now the Yakima Chamber of Commerce is getting involved, they want to gauge how much the community knows about the minimum wage battle and the effects it could possibly have.
This past Monday, they posted an online survey that they’re urging people to take. They say it will help them determine what the community knows and what type of information still needs to shared.
However right now, the Chamber of Commerce told us they believe an increase could hurt the economy here in Yakima.
“You’re going to see business cut staffing, you’re going to see businesses close their doors, especially small business, I think this right now would be very detrimental to businesses in our valley,” Chamber of Commerce CEO Verlynn Best explained.