Beyond $15

The inside story of the first successful $15 minimum wage campaign that renewed a national labor movement

SeaTac, Washington—a small city built around Seattle-Tacoma International Airport—gained national recognition as the first successful $15 minimum wage battleground. But what most people don’t know is that the SeaTac fight didn’t begin with wages. The campaign emerged from an unlikely coalition that first united over the right of Muslim airport workers to pray.

When unions stood in solidarity with Somali immigrants in a conflict with their employer over prayer breaks, something remarkable happened. From this skirmish a powerful coalition of immigrant workers, clergy, and unions emerged to force a dramatic showdown with the airlines and political establishment. At stake was not just money but justice: whether the airport economy would serve the needs of everyone who made it work.

Driven by captivating narrative and insightful analysis, Jonathan Rosenblum’s book reveals the inside story of SeaTac: airport workers and clergy staging face-to-face confrontations with corporate leaders; the challenges of uniting a diverse, largely immigrant workforce; and the internal tensions that nearly destroyed the coalition. Beyond $15 is a blunt assessment of the daunting problems within today’s unions; a blueprint for a powerful, all-inclusive labor movement; and a call for workers to reclaim their power and voice in the new economy.