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SIZE 26″ x 20″.
PABLO PICASSO "JACQUELINE, WIFE OF PICASSO" SIGNED AND NUMBERED LIMITED EDITION FINE ART PRINT, Own it! This is an extraordinary gorgeous rare Limited Edition "Jacqueline" Wife of Picasso, Fine Art Print by the Picasso, one of the most well loved and influential artists of all time. This artwork is magnificent with brilliant rich colors and visual sweep. This is an authentic Estate Approved Limited Edition Giclee print, Hand Signed and Numbered in pencil "Collection Domain Picasso" and bearing the embossed in paper PICASSO SEAL. It is in exceptional condition. It is of the highest quality. The edition size is numbered 500. Printed on a heavy weight beautiful Arches type paper. This is not cheap reproduction, but the high quality Estate Approved Limited Edition This item retails in fine galleries framed for over $1,000.00. We are offering it to you at a very low starting price, well below the typical Gallery price! COA Certificate of Authenticity provided. This piece is a lovely addition for any Picasso art lover. Own a great art piece at an affordable price. This is your chance to own this excellent art print from one of todays most collectable artists at a exceptionally affordable price. Buy from us with confidence! Size: 26″ x 20″.
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Pablo Picasso is recognized as one of the most significant, important and critically acclaimed artists of the 20th century.
Picasso is considered the master of 20th-century art, Picasso exploded the conventional art boundaries and discovered new dimensions for his prolific diverse talents. Picasso was born on October 25, 1881, in Malaga, Spain, son of an artist, Jose Ruiz, and Maria Picasso. Rather than adopt the common name Ruiz, the young Picasso took the rarer name of his mother. Picasso was an artistic prodigy by the age of 15. Picasso was technically skilled in drawing and painting at an early age, and by late 1906 had begun painting in a revolutionary manner. Inspired by Paul Cézanne.
Spanish painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and ceramicist who worked in France, a leader of the School of Paris, he was outstanding for his technical virtuosity, unbelievable originality, and prolificacy.
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Should you rise from the underground, step off a train from Cambridge, or pass en route from Paris to Edinburgh next week, have the decency to gaze up at the reincarnated London's King's Cross station. After five years of construction the new western concourse is all but complete: a smaller but equally elegant counterpoint to its neighbour, St Pancras International.
Network Rail has restored and preserved Victorian facades but added a stunning modern roof, creating an uninterrupted space springing from one plume of white steel - and all without, as the company stresses, cancelling one train.
The wow factor in the £500m redevelopment is a "diagrid" roof - the kind seen atop the British Museum's Great Court, but in this case spanning 150m with not one visible bolt in the entire structure. Designed to cover the largest area without the need for supporting columns in the middle, this vast bright space is "the head of a matchstick", the engineers explain. The steel piles underpinning the visible lattice are driven 50m into the ground.
Architect Hiro Aso, who has been part of the project with architects John McAslan since submitting their winning design in the late 1990s, says: "It leaps, it's glorious, organic - a very bold expression of the overlay of new and old. We could have been a bit more apologetic, or subordinate, but this is an absolutely amazing structure."
After the cramped conditions that have faced the 47 million passengers who use the station each year, the revamp promises not only free flow but perhaps even time to relax. An elevated second storey in the concourse will have cafes and shops more detached from the commuter rush. The biggest pub of any railway station will also now be found here: a boon for many awaiting the evening East Coast services, if not perhaps the cleaning staff or guards.
Although wooden passages of construction hoardings have funnelled passengers through to the western platforms and St Pancras for years, many were utterly oblivious of the transformation taking place behind the boards, according to project manager Ian Fry. "We've held presentations for people here showing what we're doing, and they frequently ask: 'So when are you going to start?'"
Clearer light has already been falling on the eastern platforms, the main train shed, since the first sections of its glass roof were recently completed.
Photovoltaic panels will generate 10-20% of the station's power needs. That work continues, and after the Olympics builders will start pulling off the scabrous eyesore, the "dingy green canopy" (as Network Rail's own literature describes it) that hangs over the present entrance. For a few last days the ageing concourse behind, remains the main point of departure. Next year it will be demolished to make way for an outdoor plaza.
The most frequently asked question, Network Rail bosses admit, is the location of platform nine and three-quarters, boarding point for the Hogwart's Express of Harry Potter fame. Despite the station's reconstruction the monument, a luggage trolley vanishing into the brickwork, has kept tourists queuing - even when relocated to a dismal exterior wall on the accident blackspot of York Way junction, a setting to challenge the most ardent JK Rowling fan's suspension of disbelief.
A new space will be found amid the renovation of the original 1852 building - but discreetly, not between platforms nine and 10, and facing away from any trains lest the incessant flash photography unsights the drivers.


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Comfort Suites
(435) 644-8200 150 West Center Street, Kanab, UT 84741 M-Su 24hr Official site
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Book today at the Comfort Suites, a hotel in Kanab Utah located near the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument! Our 100% smoke free hotel is located near endless outdoor recreation including hiking, mountain biking, hunting and much more. Nearby points of interests include Moqui Cave, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, Coral Pink Sand Dunes Park and Pipe Spring National Monument. Zion National Park is located about 29 miles away. Additional attractions that are a short drive away are the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon National Park, the Wave and the Kodachrome Basin State Park. Lake Powell is about 5 hours away. Enjoy amenities like free Wi-Fi, free hot breakfast, exercise room, outdoor pool and hot tub. Enjoy the convenience of our business center and guest laundry facilities. Our pet friendly hotel (dogs only) also offers a dog park! Our spacious rooms offer HDTVs, refrigerators, microwaves and more! Book now at the Comfort Suites hotel in Kanab!
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USA Triathlon Annual Membership Report — 2015 Update
In January, USA Triathlon elite and age-group triathletes enhanced international relations as competitors at the first sporting event held in Cuba following President Obama's opening of the borders. Later in the year, USA Triathlon's international affairs grew through an agreement with the African Triathlon Union, a relationship formed with a mission of growing and supporting triathlon in developing countries throughout the world.
USA Triathlon hosted the world at the 2015 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final and World Championships in September, welcoming 6,000 multisport athletes from around the globe. World titles were awarded to elite triathletes, paratriathletes, juniors and under-23 athletes, as well as age-group athletes who competed in championship events for aquathlon and sprint- and Olympic-distance triathlon. USA Triathlon's amateur Team USA was comprised of nearly 1,200 Americans — the largest world championships contingent in the organization's history.
With a focus of establishing a stronger foundation as an NCAA Emerging Sport for Women, USA Triathlon awarded nearly $1 million to Division I, II and III institutions in the first year of the Women's Triathlon Emerging Sport Grant. The grant program, an unprecedented amount of support for a National Governing Body within the Emerging Sport for Women landscape, led to greater participation in the second Women's Collegiate Triathlon season. In November at the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championship, an at-capacity field of 80 women toed the line to compete for national titles.
To inspire growth of triathlon in communities around the country, USA Triathlon launched the Tri it Forward program to motivate and encourage new athletes by way of existing members of the USA Triathlon community. Based on the "pay it forward" concept, members were asked to invite friends, family members and co-workers to sign up for their first triathlon. The program was conceptualized to increase multisport participation and promote healthy lifestyles across the United States.
Additionally, the USA Triathlon Foundation awarded $52,000 as part of the first year of its grant program to grow programming for children, paratriathletes and Olympic hopefuls. Grant award winners established opportunities for non-triathletes to gain exposure to the sport and help break down barriers that may have otherwise hindered participation.
USA Triathlon has maintained consistent participation of annual members throughout the organization's history. The annual adult membership total as of Dec. 31, 2015 was 116,110, a .26 percent decrease from 2014 (approximately 297 members). Overall annual membership (adult + youth) totaled 161,298, a decrease of just over 5 percent. Youth membership continues to be an area of focus for USA Triathlon, especially as key youth events in the United States are discontinued. The former youth events provided a path to membership for members under the age of 17, and USA Triathlon is exploring new youth programming that will allow more young triathletes participation options in their neighborhoods. Total membership, encompassing both annual and one-day members, was 432,447 at the end of 2015.
Other areas of note:
- USA Triathlon again sanctioned more than 4,300 events in 2015. 258 of those events were held in Florida.
- With 462 new Level I Certified Coaches, more individuals earned a Level I designation than any other year in the organization's history. USA Triathlon also certified 20 new Level II coaches for the first time since 2012 and had its first new Level III Certified Coach since 2011.
- The number of female annual members grew slightly in 2015, with women comprising 37.64 percent of USA Triathlon's annual membership. This is the second-highest percentage since 2011 (38.7 percent), and a .5 percent bump over 2014.
- Members ages 40-49 comprise the largest sector of USA Triathlon's annual membership at more than 30 percent of the overall membership base.
- Texas has the most members, with 15,274. California members total 14,361 and Florida has the third-largest membership base with 12,946.
- The Mid-Atlantic Region (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington D.C. and West Virginia)remains the largest of USA Triathlon's 10 Regions, representing more than 16 percent (21,864 individuals) of the total membership.
Triathlon Growth Trends
At the end of 1999, membership (annual and one-day) stood at 127,824. Those numbers had more than doubled to 262,703 by 2005, and USA Triathlon continued to experience double-digit annual growth through 2007 when it reached 336,356 members.
After hitting 441,060 members in 2009, USA Triathlon consistently experienced 4 percent growth in 2010 and 2011 before a 5.64 percent increase in annual and one-day members in 2012, topping out at a record high 510,859. One-day memberships now stand at over 477,000.
Looking at the causes for this growth, one must first turn their attention to the 2000 Olympic Games, triathlon's first appearance at this international event. This elevated the publicity of the sport on the national level. Through the first weekend, NBC's coverage of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, which included coverage of the women's triathlon, was the most watched non-U.S. Olympic Games in history with 111 million people tuned-in to all or part of the broadcasts, according to NBC Sports research.
Before, during and after the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, USA Triathlon and its elite athletes appeared in such publications as the New York Times, the L.A. Times, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, USA Today, the Orlando Sentinel, the Denver Post, the Rocky Mountain News, the Detroit News, the Detroit Free Press and a host of others. Olympic bronze medalist Susan Williams was interviewed on NBC, the Today Show and did numerous interviews with NBC affiliates across the country.
USA Triathlon and the U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team received similar worldwide coverage surrounding the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2012 London Olympic Games.
NBC's prime time Olympic coverage on Aug. 25, 2004, which included coverage of the women's Olympic triathlon, was the third most-watched prime time show for the week of Aug. 22, 2004. The first and second most-watched shows were also the prime time Olympic coverage. The women's triathlon was seen in 24.3 million households, according the Nielsen Media Research.
It is difficult to pinpoint the exact causes of the continued growth of the sport, but the below factors all played a part:
• Society's interest in fitness and living a healthy lifestyle
• The growth of the number of total races across the country, making races easier to get to
• The growth in the number of the more accessible shorter sprint races, which made the sport more accessible to those with fewer hours to train each week
• Media attention on the sport
• Growth in the 30-49 age groups who are looking for varied outlets for fitness
• Peer pressure from friends who have tried the sport
• The ego reward of saying you "are a triathlete"
• Increase in clubs, which create a community concept for men and especially women who enjoy the group training and support atmosphere
• Increase in resources (websites, books, magazines) that provide assistance/education in getting started
• Growth in multisport shops and triathlon specific training and racing gear
• Marketing and communications efforts of USA Triathlon
• Growth in the number of USA Triathlon certified coaches who are able to provide training plans and individual attention for athletes who need guidance and motivation
On the event side, the number of races sanctioned through USA Triathlon continues to climb. Those numbers (which include camps and clinics) have nearly tripled over the last seven years, going from 1,541 in 2004 to 4,397 in 2014.
Looking at the distances of the races, the biggest growth continues to be at the shorter sprint distances, which have surged from 818 in 2004 to 1,507 in 2010, but growth at other distances (including Olympic, Ironman 70.3 and Ironman) has also been consistent during that time.
Additionally, a number of events are not sanctioned by USA Triathlon are put on across the United States each year. The majority of these are offered through organizations with insurance and liability programs already in place, such as universities and YMCAs.
The sport has consistently grown and continues to thrive in a number of areas. People are choosing to be more active, which leads more people to join in the sport as annual members of USA Triathlon. But the better news is that people are sticking around, doing more events and becoming lifelong members of the multisport community.
Who are Triathletes?
In the late 1990s there was a slow increase in overall membership but a sizeable shift in the participation base from 30-34 to 35-39. Since that time the greatest growth has occurred in the 35-39 and 40-44 age groups. We believe that this growth will continue as those in these age groups are looking for new outlets of participation and fitness. Fortunately growth has been good in all age categories in the past decade and so the sport as a whole should continue to increase as more events are being started in smaller triathlon markets.
Female Participation
Since 2000, USA Triathlon's female membership has grown from 27 percent of the total of the annual members to more than 37 percent at the end of 2014. Factors leading to this growth are society's acceptance of "active" women, women feeling more comfortable living an active lifestyle, the growth of women's-only events like the Danskin and Trek Triathlon Series, and races focusing on charity involvement and fundraising.
Youth Growth
USA Triathlon categorizes youth athletes as ages 7-17. At present, youth triathlon is still in a very organic, grassroots state. Many — if not most — races are organized by groups that already service young populations. We are seeing an increase in the number of "adult" triathlons that are adding youth events to their program in what is commonly called a "triathlon festival." The idea is to provide a menu of events over the course of a weekend, from sprint to long course distances, to attract as many people as possible. Race directors have realized a growing demand to provide something for the young kids who may join mom and dad at the triathlon festival. In this way, triathlon is evolving into a multi-generational sporting event … all taking place on the same weekend.
Today's youngsters also have the advantage of recognizing triathlon as a "real" sport. It is not a fringe sport to them as it was when many adults got their start in the late-80s and early-90s. The sport is televised more often — including broadcasts on NBC, Universal Sports Network and regional sports networks — and the web has made information much more accessible than it was even in 2000 when triathlon debuted in the Olympics.
On the national level, USA Triathlon has been reaching out to the youth market through a variety of camps and events that cater to both recreational participants and those with aspirations of competing as a professional or on the Olympic stage. National championships are offered for both groups, and athletes with recognized skill and potential are invited to be a part of the USA Triathlon Athlete Development program, which targets youth 15 and under and juniors aged 16-19. The program serves as a feeder program to senior elite level, where athletes compete as professional on the international stage, including the Olympic Games.
Additionally, USA Triathlon launched the Splash & Dash Youth Aquathlon Series in 2012. The series was created to introduce youth aged 7-15 to multisport events and in 2013, more than 2,400 young athletes participated in 40 events around the U.S. The series expanded to 50 events for 2014.
The Mind of the Triathlete – 2009 Study
A study initiated by USA Triathlon and conducted by the TribeGroup in early 2009 revealed exciting new data on the demographics and spending habits of multisport athletes in the United States.
The Mind of the Triathlete study – which was conducted in October and November of 2008 – is the first of its kind to offer in-depth exploration of the social, emotional, demographic and lifestyle aspects of the people who participate in multisport. It provides a deep analysis and segmentation of the triathlete across new participants and long time veterans. More than 15,000 triathletes gave an average of 20 minutes describing their experiences, lifestyle, habits and backgrounds.
Download the Executive Summary of the study.
Download the full study, which includes more than 70 pages of analysis and charts, as well as additional cross tabs, in PDF format
Key Findings
The study grouped participants into seven distinct segments according to similarities in their demographics, psychographics and involvement in the sport. On average, triathletes are from high socio-economic backgrounds with median incomes of $126,000, however, their motivators and mindset are different, creating a significant opportunity for the triathlon community to serve them better and in more targeted ways. Unlike many consumers, they are spending cautiously but on average intend to spend as much in 2009 as they did in 2008. In fact, 45 percent would rather spend discretionary income on triathlon with three of seven segments exceeding 65 percent and one nearly 80 percent.
General Participation
Older athletes do more races 95% participate for the personal challenge 87% participate to stay in shape On average, they participated in 4.2 triathlons during the previous 12 months 86% plan to do longer races in the future Sprint triathlon remains the most popular, with those events attracting participation of more than three quarters of respondents
What Distances?
78% participate in Sprint (approx. 500 meter swim, 12 mile bike, 5k run) 58% participate in Olympic (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run) 39% participate in Half Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) 17% participate in Ironman (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run) 15% participate in Short duathlon (approx. 5k run, 30k bike, 5k run) 4% participate in Long duathlon (approx. 10k run, 70k bike, 10k run)
What Other Type of Events?
69% participate in 10K 64% participate in 5K 54% participate in marathon 31% participate in off-road triathlon 16% participate in winter triathlon
Age and Gender
Average age: 38
59.6% Male 39.5% Female
7% are Under 25
12.8% are 25-29
15.7% are 30-34
19.9% are 35-39
17.3% are 40-44
12.1% are 45-49
7.5% are 50-54
3.5% are 55-59
1.6% are 60-64
0.6% are 65-69
0.3% are 70+
63% are married
11% are in committed relationship
21% are single
5% are widowed, divorced or separated
44% have children living at home
49% report white-collar jobs
19% report professional jobs such as doctor, lawyer or accountant
12% are students or education workers
12% are blue or gray collar workers
6% are government or military
Average income: $126,000
12.9% have incomes under $50K
14.5% have incomes $50-74,999
16% have incomes $75-$99,999
23.4% have incomes $100-$149,999
12.1% have incomes $150-$199,999
8.4% have incomes $200-$299,999
5.5% have incomes over $300K
Spending (discretionary income)
50% of dollars spent on bikes and bike equipment
17% of dollars spent on race entry fees
8% of dollars on fitness clothing
11% of dollars on athletic shoes
$2,274 spent on bikes in past 12 months
$564 spent on race fees in past 12 months
$524 spent on bike equipment
$370 spent on training, running and athletic footwear
$277 spent on nutritional supplements
Race and Ethnicity
88.2% are Caucasian/White
3.2% are Hispanic
2.1% are Asian
1.5% are Multi-racial
0.5% are African-American
1.1% are other


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Director, Founder
Bence was acquainted with performing arts through dance. At an early age he became a member of a pioneering dance community led by the famous Hungarian choreographer and dancer Endre Jeszenszky. Besides teaching Russian ballet, the master introduced a new language of modern dance in Hungary in the early 80's and 90's.
Bence's passion for dance and theatre, his eagerness to learn and to discover led him to apply to one of Britain's outstanding Performing Arts Universities founded and patronized by Sir Paul McCartney. Moving abroad was an important and very much expected step in his life as he has always been guided by his unceasing curiosity, moreover, as a child he already had a particularly significant experience living abroad when his family, who denied communism, went to live in Germany until the Berlin wall fell.
While continuing his dance studies in the UK he opened his focus and complemented his studies with other elements of theatre such as light and set design along with song writing. His admiration for the work of the American choreographer Bob Fosse inspired him to start a still continuing research and passion for the 1920's and 30's cabaret and variety performances. For a long time, in many of his works cabaret and variety have been the dominant genres where borders between performers and audience disappear.
As a graduate choreographer and director of Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, his independent productions drove him to work in the UK, Portugal and Brussels before going back and settling down in Hungary. When he returned, he met one of his most determinant masters Katalin Fekete, the Hungarian filmmaker. Thanks to her, he could discover the world of Sergei Ostrenko, a Russian acting coach who introduced the Stanislavski acting method to Bence. His time spent with Ostrenko in Russia and Ukraine strengthened the development of his East-Central European awareness and of his own identity.
Not quite sure of the reason why, but circus has always appeared in his works in different stylistic manners. However, when he is asked why he has chosen the world of circus, he simply answers "It must have been all the weekends spent with my grandmother in the circus.". In 2012, he created a show with 11 talented acrobats for Sziget Festival. After the overnight success of this production it was no longer a question that they would continue their path together, so they founded Recirquel Company Budapest. Over 3 years, Bence has created a new language for the reputable Hungarian circus arts. With the advanced technique of circus artists in collaboration with dance music and theatre, he proposes a unique style of East-Central European Contemporary Circus.


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Seattle recently passed the highest minimum wage in the country, $15 an hour phased in over 3-7 years, with temporary credits for health care spending and tips. While Seattle's $15 agreement is complex, the principles it reflects are straightforward: Workers get a substantial pay boost to $15 an hour, smaller businesses get time to adapt, and our local economy sees a $3 billion boost to the paychecks of 100,000 low-wage workers over the next decade.[i]
This victory for low-income workers was the product of multiple intersecting forces including: The national economic and political climate; local political shifts; and smart, strategic organizing that seized this moment of opportunity.
Photo by Flickr user Pwnbot, used under Creative Commons Sharealike license.
Why raise the minimum wage?
At a moment when the labor movement is losing ground – including basic collective bargaining rights following recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions[ii] – some workers and labor institutions have decided to take a new approach to building power and supporting struggling families. Raising the minimum wage is the most potent poverty reduction tool in our current economic and policy arsenal. Even for low-income Americans receiving public assistance, 70% of their income is tied to their wage and employment status[iii].
Workers at the bottom of the income ladder have also been hit particularly hard by widening income inequality and increasing long-term unemployment in the recession and post-recession economy[iv]. Wage income is more important than ever to raising the fortunes of low-income families[v].
Yet rising inequality has broken the link between economic growth and broadly shared prosperity that characterized post-WWII American history[vi]. Without strong pressure on companies to share the wealth with workers, gains have increasingly accrued to the top earners.
So how do we reverse wage stagnation?
Historically, major advances for workers have been won through politics at the federal level, or through campaigns to organize workers at major employers. But political gridlock means Congress an unlikely to yield any progress. And the current state of collective bargaining law presents few viable opportunities to take on corporate recalcitrance and bargain new worker victories on any significant scale.
This situation has left an opportunity at the local level to find real solutions to these challenges. And as public opinion consolidates — minimum wage increases tend to poll well — state and local minimum wage initiatives are sprouting up across the country[vii].
Setting the stage for change: Shifts in the economic and political climate
The overall picture of the deterioration of our economy and increasing concentration of wealth is by now well-known:
- The gap between the top 1% and the rest of us has grown to crisis levels not seen since the Great Depression[viii].
- Real hourly wages have been stagnant for several decades[ix].
- Low-wage jobs are growing much faster the rest of the economy[x].
- Labor unions represent an ever-decreasing share of workers[xi]. The share of income going to the top 10% has a consistent inverse relationship with union membership over the past 100 years[xii], and as membership has fallen, the top 10% have grown wealthier.
While income inequality, depressed wages, and declining unions represent long-term trends, the magnitude and permanence of the economic change we've undergone has only become widely recognized since the Great Recession, the bank bailouts, and their aftermath.
During the bleak times of recessionary free-fall in 2011, the Occupy movement emerged. In a moment when the people had little real economic power, activists created a new term – the 99% – that summarized many Americans' frustration and emphasized our shared economic pain not to mention our political divisions. Occupy focused public attention on the issue of income inequality and helped create a sense of moral and economic crisis about the gap between the top 1% and the 99%.
Since Occupy, worker unrest has continued to grow and amplify the pubic narrative about inequality. In late 2012, the Walmart Black Friday strikes and national fast food strikes set the stage for climate in which workers' demands for a better life could be taken seriously.[xiii] When fast food workers launched the first strike in their industry with a bold and even somewhat implausible-sounding demand for $15 an hour, it sparked a level of attention surprisingly strong support. Suddenly — or rather, at last — we had a movement exciting enough and a demand transformative enough to measure up to the crisis at hand, launched by a radically disempowered and disrespected workforce in one of the least-paid and lowest-status occupations.
Many would have called organizing in the rapidly growing fast food industry impossible. It was common for critics to dismiss a much-stereotyped workforce of "teens and dropouts" paid minimum wage for serving customers of large profitable corporations, while trying to survive in some of the most expensive cities in the world. Against those odds, it was these workers, instead of the frustrated narrative of Occupy, who were fighting back to change the economy — and winning broad public support for their efforts.
Testing the waters: Airport workers win $15 at the ballot box in SeaTac WA
In November 2013, the first $15 minimum wage in the nation was passed in SeaTac, Washington (a suburb of Seattle). SeaTac Proposition 1 established an inflation-adjusted $15 minimum wage for workers at large transportation and hospitality employers in and around Sea-Tac International Airport. The first time the $15 minimum wage was tested at the ballot box, workers won, demonstrating that $15 was not a dream or a negotiable demand, but the spark of a new movement for economic justice.
The $15 minimum wage went to the ballot in SeaTac only after a long period of workplace-based mobilization by airport workers. Baggage handlers, cabin cleaners and other service workers had once been direct employees of airlines or the airport, but over the past decades their jobs have been contracted out and their wages eroded. As a result, a publicly owned airport was staffed by thousands of invisible poverty-wage workers, employed by an alphabet soup of little-known contractors to serve the customers of national-brand airlines.[xiv] After a high-profile campaign failed to win concessions from the dominant local airline or the public agency that runs the airport, workers and community supporters were left with only one option: take it to voters with a local initiative. Though the victory in the November election was a narrow one, it remains a signal success for the $15 movement, showing the scale of change that is possible in the current climate.
Although court challenges have meant that Proposition 1 remains unrealized for many workers, the political momentum for higher wages continues to build. Alaska Airlines — the dominant economic player at the airport and a key corporate target of the worker campaign — has recently paid for its subcontractors to raise wages to $12/hour, and announced this move to the media.[xv] And the governmental body that controls the airport, the Port of Seattle, is touting a process to establish new wage guidelines for airport workers.[xvi] While neither of these moves is sufficient, they do reflect the intense level of public support for lifting up poverty-wage workers, and the ongoing political pressure to find a way forward.
Seizing the moment: Fighting for $15 in Seattle
The national and regional stage was set for a big move in Seattle. Within just a few months of the first Seattle fast food strike in May 2013, both candidates in the race for Seattle mayor had publicly endorsed a $15 minimum wage, and were even engaging in one-upmanship about who was a better champion of the issue.[xvii]
At the same time, the only seriously contested race for City Council focused almost entirely on the $15 minimum wage. Kshama Sawant — political outsider, academic, and socialist — emerged as a towering political figure in the city after successfully challenging a long-term incumbent on a pro-worker, $15 wage platform. Between the Mayoral and City Council races and the SeaTac ballot measure on the ballot, the political debate in Seattle was shifting with extraordinary speed.
The momentum continued after Election Day. Even before his swearing in, incoming Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced plans to convene an Income Inequality Advisory Committee (IIAC) to quickly produce recommendations on how best to raise the minimum wage. Co-chaired by myself and local hotel investor Howard S. Wright III, the IIAC brought together representatives of workers, business, nonprofits, and community groups to hash out a plan to raise the minimum wage. Working under a deadline set in part by the mayor and in part by the looming possibility of ballot initiative, the IIAC was, after a few fits and starts, able to reach overwhelming agreement on a compromise plan the mayor forwarded to city council. (Only two members of the IIAC voted no — a business owner who demanded less, and Councilmember Sawant, who demanded more. The head of the local Chamber of Commerce abstained.[xviii])
Though it does include some compromises, the IIAC agreement ratifies every key demand of the worker movement for $15/hour. It ensures that:
- Every low-wage worker gets a significant raise every year on the way to $15/hour and beyond.
- Every workers benefits from a robust system of community based enforcement of labor standards.
- After the phase-in period, everyone gets to a true $15 minimum wage with no deductions for tips or benefits, adjusted annually for inflation.
Policy research helped to bring it home: Economic impacts of raising the wage
While worker voices changed what was possible, strategic data gathering and policy research helped win the debate on this new terrain. As part of its process, the city commissioned two reports that played a key role.
University of Washington researchers investigated which workers would be affected by a $15 minimum wage, breaking down the numbers by industry as well as along demographic lines. This work established some powerful data points and lent them official bearing including, crucially, that there are approximately 100,000 workers paid less $15 an hour in the City of Seattle (whose total population is about 600,000); and that these workers overwhelmingly are employed in larger worksites, not smaller ones.[xix]
University of California, Berkeley researchers took a close look at the economic impacts in other cities that had raised their minimum wages over the past decade. Their careful survey convincingly demonstrated to decision makers, journalists, and other influencers that higher wages do not result in job loss. Moving this key issue from a contentious question to a matter of settled fact has contributed greatly to the success of the campaign so far. Business claims about job losses have been greeted with an air of skepticism in many quarters quite unlike other recent debates on labor standards.[xx]
Locally, the community empowerment organization Puget Sound Sage generated a series of reports that responded quickly to key questions around impacts on different groups such as tipped workers; women, immigrants, and people of color. They also reported on the overall economic impact of higher wages. Puget Sound Sage's local credibility and ability to produce convincing and strategic analysis of emerging questions was a critical part of the effort for $15[xxi]
A summary of the data collected by researchers:
- Decreasing poverty: If there were no changes in the labor market, an increase in the minimum wage to $15 per hour would reduce the share of seattle residents whose family income was below the poverty line from 13.6% to 9.4% (University of Washington)
- Dispelling the myth that this hasn't been done before: A raise in the minimum wage of $9.32 to $15 would be a 61% increase. In 2003-2004, Santa Fe raised its minimum wage from $5.15 to $8.50, a 65% increase with no net impact on employment or store closures—IIR Policy Brief, "Do Businesses Flee Citywide Minimum Wage," (Sept. 2006). When Washington State raised the minimum wage in 1989, the tip credit was also eliminated. The result was an 85% increase in the minimum wage for tipped workers over those two years. Restaurant employment continued to grow. (Source: The Stranger, 2/2/2014)
- Cost increases: a Political Economy Research Institute study (Sept. 2013) estimated that a minimum wage increase from $7.25 to $10.50 (45%) would increase fast food restaurants' cost of doing business by 2.7%[xxii]. The Seattle Times recently estimated that raise in the minimum wage to $15 would at most raise consumers' cost of dining out by 7% -Seattle Times, citing UC Berkley research (March 12, 2014)
- On store closures and layoffs:
- Other cities which have raised minimum wage showed no significant impact on employment or retail store closures. Seattle Times (relying on a UC Berkley report studying San Francisco + 8 cities and 21 states with higher base pay than the federal minimum wage) showed almost no effect on employment rates because of higher productivity, less turnover and modest increase in prices at the restaurants – Seattle Times (March 12, 2014)
- Studies of the Washington/Idaho border showed that rather than business flight to lower-wage Idaho, wages rose in Idaho to remain competitive with WA. And Big Macs cost the same. Washington Post (Jan. 8, 2014)
For the next wave: Lessons from the $15 campaigns in SeaTac and Seattle
The public mood on the economy has shifted, offering us the possibility to seize new political opportunities to win gains for workers on a historic scale. In fact, the 100,000 Seattle workers whose wages would be substantially lifted by the mayor's $15 minimum wage plan is greater than the number of workers organized in any single National Labor Relations Board election in U.S. history.[xxiii]
Seattle has shown that public and political opinion can be moved dramatically in a very short time. It was less than a year from the first time fast food workers strike demanding $15 an hour on May 30, 2013 to the mayor's announcement of a concrete plan to reach a $15 wage on May 1, 2014. This extraordinary speed wasn't borne of a longstanding plan; it happened because advocates had the flexibility to seize the new political opportunities before us.
Public debate in Seattle has been transformed through the relentless appearance of workers articulating their aspirations, and solidified by the new data-driven consensus that higher wages lift the economy. Supporters of the $15 minimum wage of all stripes have been extremely disciplined in reiterating the commonsense "middle out" argument about how economics works: more people with more money means more customers for more businesses.
Notably, working people have presented as people, not just workers. They're seen as our neighbors first, not activists. Instead of talking about their jobs, they've talked about their lives, their families, their struggles, and their aspirations. This is a rare workplace struggle where the debate has not focused on the workplace itself, but rather on our communities and our economic future. The result has been new perceptions of who low-wage workers are, what they deserve, and whether they matter.
And perhaps because Seattle's $15 movement began in fast food — an industry not generally considered to have much intrinsic value — the focus has remained sharp on the universal human needs of working people rather than the "worth" of the particular type of labor they engage in. Universalizing this sense of who is "deserving" has compounded the middle-out storyline, underlining the sense that higher wages are also a near universal economic benefit.
While polling has shown overwhelming support for the case workers have articulated, low-wage workers could not have won this struggle alone. It has been critical throughout the process to allow space for grassroots organizations and community business to come along. Their endorsements have been valuable ratifications of worker voices, helping move perceptions of worker demands from quixotic hopes to serious plans.
Another critical lesson is that high minimum wage numbers can rapidly become normalized. Initially, the demand for $15 sounded quite high to many observers — including some staffers and even some low-wage workers — but with repetition and endorsement it became normalized.
Overall, the success of the $15 effort in Seattle has demonstrated that worker voices can shape and move opinion about the economy — even more than business owners, elected officials, and journalists. In a recent poll, fast food workers registered as the group considered "most trusted" on the minimum wage. They came in significantly ahead of our new mayor, and far outpaced the Restaurant Association, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Seattle Times.[xxiv]
The same poll also showed that public can be quite sophisticated and engaged in understanding these issues. An astonishing 74% of Seattle voters offered support for the idea of a $15 minimum wage, up slightly from 68% earlier in the year. And the support appears to be firm: 87% of Seattle voters said they're paying attention to the debate. Perhaps this close attention explains why many have been able to sympathize with some business concerns while maintaining a sharp commitment to the clear call offered by workers that bold action is necessary to take on the central moral and economic crisis of our era.
Most importantly, Seattle shows that by positioning the debate as a question of corporate profits or workers' lives, ongoing mobilization by workers can keep the political debate focused on friendly terrain, offering new opportunities for bold policy moves that take on income inequality and lift up workers.


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Grape Harvesting and Stomping in Sonoma County
I am continually blown away by the activities available in Sonoma County. It feels like every weekend we have something new and fun to try. It really feels like you could spend years here and not get bored. This past weekend, we checked off one of our California bucket list items and joined Old World… Read More Grape Harvesting and Stomping in Sonoma County


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In our own words: Festival of Theatre by Young People, for Young People
During this two week festival, the Belgrade will be showcasing some of the best new work by and for young people, made by our own participants and other regional and national groups.
Seven productions from our own Youth and Community groups will explore questions such as:
- What is the impact of schooling on young people today?
- How do we experience love throughout our lifetimes
- What are the connections between perceptions of Islam and radicalisation
- What makes boys and girls different
- How do we remember?
We'll be working with artists from companies around the UK such as Frantic Assembly, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Vamos Theatre, Gateway Studio Project, curious directive, Theatre Absolute, Ludic Rooms and Highly Sprung.
The two weeks will culminate in an action packed weekend of performances, workshops, talks and interactive events from 17 – 21 July.
The Highly Sprung Physical Fellowship will take place as part of the July Festival from 13 – 16 July.
If you are interested in learning more about the Festival or would like to get involved, please contact us.
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Wonderful setting for smaller, friendlier Weddings. Have the ceremony by the pool under the flowery pergola!
Wedding ceremonies at "Finca del Niño"
Our highly recommended experienced caterers meet all your needs, exotic and beautiful flowers are brought in from local florists, the local baker provides the traditional Spanish Wedding Cake, a professional film maker and photographer can be brought in.
The sun will shine, your special day will be happy, relaxed and memorable for you and your guests. No need for a marquee, or cars to go to the reception – it's all here.
A beautiful Wedding in a lovely setting – your own 12 bedroomed villa and large gardens full of flowers.
There's a small hotel on the beach nearby for an overflow of guests, taxis or hire cars can be organised, and we are only 35 minutes from Malaga airport. There are lots of things to see and do in the area so your guests can be occupied during their stay, and many excellent restaurants nearby for romantic dinners!
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