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A recent proposal from the Seattle City Council to raise $75 million in taxes on the city’s largest employers has had some construction workers fed up at the prospect that they might lose out on a major construction project.
Workers from the Ironworkers Local 86 union descended upon a town hall Thursday for Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant, a member of the Socialist Alternative Party, to voice their displeasure with the council’s proposed “head tax,” according to a video of the protest published Monday.
“No head tax!” the dozens of orange-vested construction workers yelled as Sawant tried to convince her supporters that such a tax would benefit the city.
The “head tax” would charge high-revenue businesses like Amazon a premium for employing so many workers to pay for social services that would benefit the city’s homeless population.
Sawant called the proposed tax “pocket change” for businesses like Amazon and claimed at a Wednesday council meeting the company could easily pay the tax increase.