VOL 33 NO 26 | JUNE 21 – JUNE 27, 2014

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VOL 33 NO 26

JUNE 21 – JUNE 27, 2014

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SPORTS Asian countries in the World Cup » P. 5

32 YEARS YOUR VOICE

Franchisees sue Seattle over $15 wage By Jason Cruz Northwest Asian Weekly

and adversaries of the law.

A lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court of Western Washington earlier this month challenges the recent passage of an ordinance in the City of Seattle that would raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Asian businesses have joined the lawsuit, which requires franchised businesses to increase the wages it pays its hourly workers to $15 per hour within 3 years. According to some franchisees, the economic ramifications could devastate their businesses, which operate as small businesses.

The International Franchise Association (IFA), a Washington D.C. trade group, and five local franchised business owners filed a lawsuit in Western Washington District Court on June 11, seeking to block the city ordinance. The complaint alleges the new law illegally discriminates against franchisees and improperly treats them as large companies. “Hundreds of small, locally-owned businesses and thousands of their employees are unfairly threatened by Seattle’s new law. We are not seeking special treatment for franchisees. We are just seeking equal treatment. The city’s minimum wage statute arbitrarily and illegally discriminates against franchisees and significantly increases their labor costs in ways that will harm their businesses, employees, consumers, and Seattle’s economy,” said Steve Caldeira, IFA president and CEO. “We hope the court will block the ordinance to save jobs and prevent Seattle from unfairly singling out one type of business — a franchise — for punitive treatment.” {see LAWSUIT cont’d on page 11}

Filipino mayor: Typhoon was ‘something we never imagined’

Photo by James Tabafunda/NWAW

By James Tabafunda Northwest Asian Weekly

Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez talks to reporters in downtown Seattle.

Typhoons are a normal, generally accepted part of life in the Philippines, except for one. Alfred Romualdez, the mayor of Tacloban, of Leyte province in central Philippines, has seen dozens of typhoons over the years, ranging from 87 to 106 miles per hour. He said Typhoon Haiyan reached 235 miles per hour and was “something we never imagined would happen.” He and his wife, Cristina GonzalesRomualdez, visited Seattle as guests of

the humanitarian aid provider Medical Teams International (MTI) for its annual fundraising event on June 7 at Safeco Field. Before the event, he described what it was like to experience first hand the 24th tropical storm of 2013 to arrive in his country. On Nov. 8, Typhoon Haiyan (or “Yolanda,” as it’s called by the Filipinos) hit the Philippines with such force that more than 6,000 people died, and about 4 million people lost their homes. Haiyan’s record number of deaths makes it the country’s deadliest storm in history. “Out of the 2,900 dead (in Tacloban alone), 520 are children,” Romualdez said. Typhoon Haiyan struck with heavy rains. Its winds blew three tsunami-like surges onto Tacloban, the largest being a 16- to 26-foot tall wave that remained on land for two hours before receding. “The strength of this storm officially was 378 kilometers per hour (235 mph),” Romualdez said. “We talk of typhoons that strong now — maybe the new normal.” {see TACLOBAN cont’d on page 12}

From left, Joseph Cheng, Subway owner; Steve Caldeira, president and CEO of the International Franchise Association; Kathy Lyons, owner of BrightStar Care; and Chuck Stempler, owner of two AlphaGraphics print shops.

It’s graduation time!

UW commencement speaker Steve Ballmer (on the screen), speaking to 45,000 people (including 5,300 graduating students).

By Jamie Sun Northwest Asian Weekly It’s that Pomp and Circumstance time of year, and in addition to the myriad of graduating APIs around the country, several successful Asian Americans were invited to speak at university commencement ceremonies. Among them, former U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke, Mindy Kaling, and Howard Koh. “The purpose of education is not to lead a more comfortable life,” Locke told graduates at Western Washington University on June 14, “but a more useful and meaningful one.” On May 17, at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Dr. Howard Koh

addressed graduates during the commencement ceremony. Koh has been the assistant secretary for health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) since 2009. Koh’s parents journeyed to America from Korea a generation ago to search for the American Dream. “In doing so, they sacrificed and they persevered, for a better life for their children and their children’s children,” said Koh. “They told us kids how lucky we were to be born in this country, how fortunate we were to enjoy the rights and freedom, and how it was our duty and our destiny to live a life of higher purpose, and make something of {see GRADUATION cont’d on page 12]

The Inside Story NAMES Awards, honors, and more » P. 2

APOP! The nuance of ‘Fresh Off the Boat’ » P. 7

Photo courtesy of Ashley Bach

The ordinance passed the Seattle City Council on June 2, and was signed by Mayor Ed Murray the next day. Essentially, the ordinance will phase in the $15 hourly minimum wage according to various schedules, and distinguishes the phasing-in process according to the number of employees each business has at the time. The initial minimum wage increase begins April 1, 2015. Businesses within Seattle will need to increase what it pays its hourly workers. The issue has been a hotly contested one, drawing the passions of both proponents

Photo by Chi-Heng Patrick Pan

The ordinance

The lawsuit

MUSIC Indian kirtan singer Krishna Das » P. 8

BLOG Thank you, Ken Colling! » P. 10

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VOL 33 NO 26 | JUNE 21 – JUNE 27, 2014 by Northwest Asian Weekly - Issuu