minimum wage

Fight for your right to raise the minimum wage in Arizona

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Earlier this month, the Governor of Oregon signed into law a novel tiered minimum wage bill. Gov. Brown signs ‘monumental’ Oregon minimum wage bill:

RaiseTheWageGov. Kate Brown signed a bill enacting a double-digit increase in the state’s minimum wage, a boost that could give the state the highest minimum wage in the nation by 2022.

Shortly thereafter, President Barack Obama released a statement commending Brown and the Legislature while criticizing Congress for inaction on raising the federal minimum wage.

Brown told reporters at the bill signing ceremony that increasing the minimum wage was her top priority for the 2016 legislative session. The law takes effect July 1, with a 50-cent increase in the statewide minimum wage.

Passing the minimum wage increase was no small feat. Lobbyists for business and labor groups were firmly camped on opposite sides of the wage debate. The labor groups filed ballot measures to raise the minimum wage. That effectively forced the Legislature to come up with its own solution before a costly and potentially politically damaging ballot measure fight ensued.

The compromise developed between legislators and business and labor lobbyists is novel because it creates three minimum wage tiers for the state. Rural areas will see a wage increase from the current $9.25 to $12.50 by 2022. Much of the state will use a “base wage,” which will increase to $13.50 by 2022. The third tier is in the Portland area, which will increase to $14.75 by 2022.  After 2022, the base wage will be adjusted for inflation, with the Portland wage tied $1.25 above and the rural wage $1 below the base wage.

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Action Alert: GOP war on the Arizona Minimum Wage Act is up for vote in the House today

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lowagersIn 2006, Arizona voters approved Proposition 202, the Arizona Minimum Wage Act, by a citizens initiative which set a higher minimum wage and adopted an automatic annual  cost of living adjustment.

Proposition 202 also gave local governments the right to enact their own higher minimum wage and other benefits of employment.

A.R.S.§ 23-362, Paragraph I provides:

I. THE LEGISLATURE MAY BY STATUTE RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE ESTABLISHED UNDER THIS ARTICLE, EXTEND COVERAGE, OR INCREASE PENALTIES. A COUNTY, CITY, OR TOWN MAY BY ORDINANCE REGULATE MINIMUM WAGES AND BENEFITS WITHIN ITS GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES BUT MAY NOT PROVIDE FOR A MINIMUM WAGE LOWER THAN THAT PRESCRIBED IN THIS ARTICLE. STATE AGENCIES, COUNTIES, CITIES, TOWNS AND OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS OF THE STATE MAY CONSIDER VIOLATIONS OF THIS ARTICLE IN DETERMINING WHETHER EMPLOYERS MAY RECEIVE OR RENEW PUBLIC CONTRACTS, FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE OR LICENSES. THIS ARTICLE SHALL BE LIBERALLY CONSTRUED IN FAVOR OF ITS PURPOSES AND SHALL NOT LIMIT THE AUTHORITY OF THE LEGISLATURE OR ANY OTHER BODY TO ADOPT ANY LAW OR POLICY THAT REQUIRES PAYMENT OF HIGHER OR SUPPLEMENTAL WAGES OR BENEFITS, OR THAT EXTENDS SUCH PROTECTIONS TO EMPLOYERS OR EMPLOYEES NOT COVERED BY THIS ARTICLE. (emphasis added)

Last July, the Court ruled that Arizona cities can raise minimum wage:

Arizona cities have the right to raise their own minimum wages, according to a court judgment state officials agreed to Monday.

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Pima Canyon

Tucson Then & Now: How Far Have We Come in 35 Years? (video)

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Tucson was a happening place back in 1981 when I moved here. Earthquakes in California and blizzards in the Midwest had prompted waves of migration to the sun belt. The town was bustling, and everyone was from somewhere else. Opportunity was in the air– as evidenced by all of the things that started in the … Read more

When human labor is replaced by technology, what will humans do for work?

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State senator John Kavanagh recently demonstrated his lack of concern for low wage workers in a comment, “And if you want to see ‘innovation,’ raise the minimum wage for fast food workers to $15 an hour and watch robots replace many of those workers.”

The GOP has always been the party of low wages, reflecting the views of its corporate masters, who would eliminate human labor entirely if possible, just as Sen. Kavanagh cavalierly suggests.

The Washington Post reports, Robot-run restaurants? Pay hikes may spur automation:

Robot-I-RobotThe [fast food] industry could be ready for another jolt as a ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour nears in the District and as other campaigns to boost wages gain traction around the country. About 30 percent of the restaurant industry’s costs come from salaries, so burger-flipping robots — or at least super-fast ovens that expedite the process — become that much more cost-competitive if the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is doubled.

“The problem with the ­minimum-wage offensive is that it throws the accounting of the restaurant industry totally upside down,” said Harold Miller, vice president of franchise development for Persona Pizzeria, who also consults for other chains. “My position is: Pay your people properly, keep them longer, treat them right, and robots are going to be helpful in doing that, because it will help the restaurateur survive.”

Many chains are already at work looking for ingenious ways to take humans out of the picture, threatening workers in an industry that employs 2.4 million wait staffers, nearly 3 million cooks and food preparers and many of the nation’s 3.3 million cashiers.

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A huge win for the Flagstaff Living Wage Coalition

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RaiseTheWageThis may be a first in Arizona.

Our lawless Tea-Publican Arizona legislature has conceded their unconstitutional lawlessness in court and agreed to a stipulated judgment, even before filing an answer, and pissing away any more of your tax dollars on yet another frivolous defense of their lawless acts. Don’t expect this to become a trend.

The Arizona Daily Sun reports, Flagstaff coalition claims victory in living wage battle with state:

The Flagstaff Living Wage Coalition said late Monday it had reached an agreement with the attorney general’s office that would nullify a 2013 state law taking away the right of communities to set minimum wages.
A spokesperson for Attorney General Mark Brnovich confirmed that the parties had filed a stipulated judgment and are waiting for a signature by the judge in the case.

According to a statement by the coalition, the judgment declares that A.R.S. § 23-204, which was passed by the Legislature in 2013, and prohibits counties, cities and towns from regulating employee compensation and benefits, violates the Voter Protection Act. In 2006, Arizona voters passed Proposition 202, which gave local governments the ability to regulate compensation and benefits. This week’s judgment will clarify that Legislature cannot override voter initiatives.

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