SEATTLE — They’ve crowded into stuffy rallies at a Seattle union hall, protested in front of fast food restaurants, marched down city streets and implored city leaders to demand an immediate $15 an hour minimum wage hike for all employees.

“We’re not patient!” a man shouted at a union hall rally, and the crowd cheered.

While the Seattle mayor is proposing to raise the wage to $15 in the coming years to the highest level in the nation, some activists say that’s too slow and are threatening to take the issue to voters with a ballot measure that would force a raise sooner.

Accounting for inflation, “even in 10 years’ time, workers still won’t be at 15,” said Kshama Sawant, the socialist City Council member and a leader of the group 15 Now.

As the plan is being debated by the council, businesses are sounding the alarm that raising the wage too quickly could hurt their revenue and force them to either hire fewer workers or let go more of their employees.