In a town not far from me , a municipal ballot measure has become a national bellwether . The citizens of SeaTac , a working-class community that includes the major airport for the Seattle-Tacoma area , will vote next month on whether to establish a $ 15 minimum wage for hospitality and transportation workers . This is obviously a fight about economics ( a recent report ( PDF ) finds that those workers make an average wage of $ 11 today ) . Perhaps less obviously , it 's also a fight about citizenship . The pro-Proposition 1 campaign is part of a resurgence of worker organizing across the country . Fast-food strikes have hit dozens of cities ; autoworkers are unionizing in the low-wage South ; fiercely independent lobstermen in Maine have already unionized . Labor organizers in SeaTac want to ride this wave . At the same time , the opposition is strong and well-funded and has the advantage of inertia . The airlines and hotel chains opposed to Proposition 1 need only to sow uncertainty and fear about unintended consequences -- the fear , specifically , of the layoffs or cuts in hours that might result if labor costs went up ( and , implicitly , of course , if corporate profits remained untouched ) . But SeaTac is a town with fewer than 12,000 voters , with many immigrant families and with shops and restaurants where `` everybody knows your name . '' Generic talking points and a vague invocation of fear or hope wo n't cut it here . Every voter 's door in SeaTac can be knocked on more than once , and will be . Which is why SEIU 775NW , the local union that helped put Proposition 1 on the ballot , is investing heavily in feet on the street and face-to-face persuasion . What 's notable in SeaTac , though , is that the people who live here are not pawns in anyone 's game . For over three decades , workers in the United States found that as their economic fortunes declined , so did their civic clout . Now , everyday citizens in and around SeaTac who have endured constant economic insecurity are finding their voice and learning to ask in public whether they should accept as normal a life where working multiple jobs still ca n't push a family out of poverty . Last week , I heard one of these newly activated citizens . Evelyn Olano is a 51-year-old Filipina immigrant . She works two low-wage jobs at the airport , scanning bags and doing security seven days a week . Her husband , already past retirement age , cleans hotel rooms . Five or 10 years ago , Evelyn and every baggage handler and bathroom cleaner and car rental gatekeeper at SeaTac would have silently borne their lot . Today , they are not . They are becoming literate in the language of civic action and political power . As I watched Evelyn give a speech at a campaign event , it was very clear that she 'd never done this before -- and that she 'd be doing it again . Evelyn spoke of the dollars and cents difference Proposition 1 would make in her household . But her earnest presence testified just as powerfully to the democratic difference it would make . The economic rationale for a minimum wage hike is that it creates a virtuous cycle of increasing demand : When workers have more money , businesses have more customers , which means businesses hire more workers , which in turn generates more customers . Customer creation begets job creation , from the middle out and bottom up . The civic rationale for a minimum wage hike is similarly demand-driven . When more citizens demand economic fairness , powerful institutions become more responsive , which empowers more citizens to find their voice , which in turn leads our leaders to listen more to citizens . It 's citizen creation , from the middle out and bottom up . The fight in SeaTac is evidence that the surest way to address economic inequality is to address political inequality : by organizing , speaking up and rounding up the votes to redefine what 's considered normal in public policy . Indeed , even if Proposition 1 does n't pass , it 's already expanded the `` safe zone '' in regional politics : Both candidates for mayor in nearby Seattle have now pledged to raise their city 's minimum wage to $ 15 , a move that will have wide national reverberations . This era of economic upheaval nationwide and policy paralysis in Washington is leading citizens across the spectrum to rediscover the power of collective action . The tea party has showed vividly that an activated , well-organized minority , working together , can change the frame of what 's possible in politics . Now , it 's time for workers stuck in poverty to learn and apply that lesson . They may get a living wage . They will certainly get a healthier democracy .
Eric Liu : Proposition would raise wages by $ 4 for many in Seattle-area community . He says the effort , organized by union group , is a model of citizen activism . The tea party has showed how citizen organization can sway public policy , he says . Liu : Prop 1 will be on November ballot and could help Democrats win back control of state legislature.