Liberals & Socialists: Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Relations between Liberal and Socialist Parties are often difficult and their coalitions rare and fragile.  But sometimes the tensions seem artificial and unnecessary, or so I concluded after reading Salon’s interview of Mayor Ed Murray regarding his Executive Order to create a $15/hour minimum wage for City employees.

Salon Reporter: “The argument was made to me, by the newly elected socialist council member Kshama Sawant, that both you and your opponent were ‘very carefully avoiding’ the $15 issue until it was brought up by her campaign and by fast food workers. Do you think that’s a fair criticism?”

Mayor Murray’s Reply: “It is absolutely incorrect, and it’s really sad to see progressives questioning other progressives’ motivations . . . I have a history as a legislator working on issues related to the – related to poverty, related to civil rights.”  “When progressives are divided and questioning each other, we lose every single time.”

Reading this, my sympathies were mainly with the Mayor.  What’s to be gained by agitation following this impressive act?  Why not graciously delight in having moved the $15/hour goal significantly forward and gear up to push it further?

Well, it turns out that, on closer inspection, this is pretty much what our Socialist Councilmember did!  Here’s Ms. Sawant’s Official Statement on the matter:

“I am pleased to hear about Mayor Murray’s executive order to begin the process of making $15/hour the minimum wage for all city workers. This move towards $15 for an estimated 600 city employees is an important step in the right direction and a victory of the growing movement of low-wage workers. It starkly demonstrates the unprecedented political momentum for a $15/hour minimum wage for all of Seattle.

As an immediate step, I appeal to Mayor Murray to insist that the thousands of city subcontractor employees not covered by today's order also be raised to a minimum of $15.

But most importantly, the message to take away from today's announcement is how impactful grassroots movements can be, and how rapidly change can happen when working people rise up and make themselves heard. Workers, low-wage workers in particular, can play the decisive role in winning a $15/hour minimum wage for all of Seattle. This needs to be done by building an independent mass movement.

Yesterday, a new organization was launched called 15 Now to help carry this struggle forward. I appeal to those who want to join the movement to sign up at 15Now.org. All those who want to get involved should come to the 15 Now kickoff rally on Sunday January 12th at 2:30 pm at the Seattle Labor Temple.”

This statement seems just about right to me: “pleased to hear about the Mayor Murray’s Executive Order,” “I appeal to the Mayor” to take the next step, and we’re creating “a new organization . . . to help carry this struggle forward.”

I'd also hazard the guess that if Mayor Murray were responding to Ms. Sawant's Official Statement rather than to the provocative question posed by the Salon reporter, he would have been equally generous.