by Daniel Stefanski | Aug 11, 2024 | Economy, News
By Daniel Stefanski |
An Arizona ballot proposition regarding tipped workers remains on track for consideration in November’s General Election.
Last this week, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter A. Thompson denied a request from Raise the Wage AZ for an issuance of a preliminary injunction against SCR 1040, the Tipped Workers Protection Act, which was passed by the Arizona Legislature this past spring and transmitted to the state’s Secretary of State for inclusion on the November ballot.
The measure will be Proposition 138 on the ballot.
According to the fact sheet provided by the Arizona Senate, SCR 1040 would “constitutionally establish minimum hourly wage requirements for employees who customarily and regularly receive tips or gratuities from patrons or others (tipped employees).” If approved by voters in November, the amendment would “authorize an employer to pay a tipped employee a wage of up to 25 percent per hour less than the statutory minimum wage if the employer can establish that for each week, when adding tips or gratuities received to wages paid, the employee received not less than the minimum wage plus $2 for all hours worked” – among another provisions.
Andrew Gould, a former Arizona Supreme Court Justice, helped to lead the defense of this ballot measure in Superior Court. He said, “Holtzman Vogel is proud to defend the right of Arizonans to voice their opinion on this important matter. The proposed amendment, SCR 1040, protects the jobs of tipped workers while allowing the businesses that employ them to survive financially. This is a victory for the people of Arizona against anti-business politics.”
Arizona Restaurant President and CEO, Steve Chucri, told a local media outlet that, “Without passage of Prop 138, you can bet the imposters behind One Fair Wage will be back with a future attempt to install a California-style pay system in Arizona. That means lower tips for workers, lost jobs for employers and higher costs for everyone. Passage of Prop 138 is the first step to prevent that from happening.”
In his order, Judge Thompson wrote, “Far from voter fraud, the legislative process used for SCR 1040 is created by the Arizona Constitution. There is no allegation that the proper process was not followed… Plaintiffs have failed to cite to specific authority which would permit this Court, or any court, to remove an Initiative or proposed Legislative Constitutional Amendment because it interferes with or makes passage of a competing ballot measure more or less likely. Placement of the proposed Constitutional Amendment (SCR 1040) on the November General Election Ballot will not undermine the sanctity of the election process. In fact, it is part of the democratic process enshrined in the Arizona Constitution with choice being left to the voters.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Carson Carpenter | Dec 28, 2023 | Opinion
By Carson Carpenter |
Arizona’s minimum wage was $13.85 in 2023, up from $12.80 per hour in 2022. On January 1, 2024, minimum wage in State 48 will be raised another 50 cents to $14.35 per hour. This increase will happen despite the fact that Arizona’s inflation rate in 2023 was lower than the national average. That’s because Arizona is a state that raises minimum wage following the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI). This means that our state follows the inflation rate of the entire country instead of the localized state-level inflation rate. But now, a new group is pushing to ensure that Arizona’s minimum wage grows astronomically higher.
Back on November 7, 2022, a group named Raise the Wage AZ introduced a measure called The One Fair Wage Act. This state-initiated statute, which could be on the ballot in 2024, proposes raising the minimum wage to a staggering $18 per hour. Within this act, it explicitly states, “The One Fair Wage Act raises the minimum wage by $1 over cost of living increases in 2025 and 2026 and leaves cost of living increases in place thereafter.” By 2025 and 2026, the cost of living in Arizona could very well be one of the highest in the nation because of the Phoenix metro area.
Another part of the act is something that will leave many small business owners feeling extremely concerned. It states: “The Act gradually reduces the amount of the employer’s offset due to tips until the employer is required to pay the full minimum wage and employees keep all of their tips on top of that wage.” This will diminish profit margins directly for small businesses and therefore increase product costs to consumers.
It’s bad enough that small businesses have been left behind for the past three years because of mismanagement of fiscal policy and ignorance at the highest level within the federal government. They shouldn’t be expected to face another dramatic increase in minimum wage. Our state cannot fall into the same trap that California and New York fell into, letting large cities dominate secondary cities and smaller towns.
On top of this, the Biden Administration’s neglect of the southern border and immigration policy will leave people that are crossing illegally even more dependent on taxpayer-funded programs—pushing overall costs at a local level even higher. Now is not the time to raise minimum wage by such an extreme margin. This is an unfortunate initiative, because it fails to address any of these other concerns that will end up affecting Arizonans.
The reality is that The One Fair Wage Act is bad for Arizona. If this ballot initiative passes, rural Arizona will be left behind as prices increase dramatically. Small businesses will go dormant. Phoenix will become the Los Angeles of the desert. And the bar of entry to start a business in Arizona will continue to grow higher for everyday Arizonans.
Carson Carpenter is a student at Arizona State University, majoring in Political Science. He is the Vice President of ASU College Republicans and has interned for Reps. Gosar and Crane. You can follow him on Twitter here.
