In 1998, EOI worked with allies to pass Initiative 688. The Paycheck Protection Act passed in every county in the state, making Washington the first state to index minimum wage to inflation. For many years, Washington’s minimum wage was best-in-the-nation, but it remains far from a living wage, and now several states and cities have leap-frogged Washington. With income inequality undermining our whole economy, it’s time to give our state’s lowest wage workers a raise.