Restaurants sue to keep $18 AZ minimum wage measure off ballot
Restaurants sue to keep $18 AZ minimum wage measure off ballot
The Arizona Restaurant Association is suing to block a ballot initiative that would raise the state’s minimum wage to $18, claiming the union-backed group behind it failed to gather enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. The political committee Raise the Wage AZ has been gathering sig...
Restaurants sue to keep $18 AZ minimum wage measure off the November ballot
The Arizona Restaurant Association is suing to block a ballot initiative that would raise the state’s minimum wage to $18, claiming the union-backed group behind it failed to gather enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot.
The political committee Raise the Wage AZ has been gathering signatures for a ballot measure called the “One Fair Wage Act” since November 2022. The measure would raise the state minimum wage from $14.35 to $18 per hour, then increase it annually to address inflation.
Why sue? Shouldn't this be verifiable? Give a stack of papers to a new hire. Have them count the signatures. If number is greater than the requirement put it on ballot, if not don't. What is there for a judge to decide?
It's most likely a bad faith hail mary lawsuit.
[Referencing the ARA ballot measure]
The measure will face a competing ballot measure sent to ballot via the Arizona Legislature and backed by the Arizona Restaurant Association. That proposal would allow restaurants to pay tipped workers 25% less than the minimum wage.
After being previously voted down in the Senate, Senate Concurrent Resolution 1040, formally known as the “Tipped Workers Protection Act,” finally passed on one of the jam-packed last days of this year’s legislative session by a vote of 16-12, with only Republicans voting in favor.
[Referencing Raise the Wage AZ's ballot measure]
The measure needs 255,949 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. The group submitted 354,278 signatures earlier this month, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. County recorders are currently working to validate the signatures submitted to determine whether the minimum wage increase will qualify for the ballot.
Now, Raise the Wage AZ is facing a challenge of its own. In its lawsuit, the Arizona Restaurant Association claims that the group submitted 28,000 less signatures than the 354,000 it claimed were submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office, was signed by non-Arizona voters and that petition circulators were not properly registered with the state.
So even if the ARA's claims are exactly correct, Raise the Wage AZ still collected far more signatures than they would need to get this measure on the ballot. It seems like the ARA is hoping they can keep the lawsuit tied up in court past the date of the voting so that their own industry backed ballot measure is the only one that is able to be voted on.
Justin Cohen - Chairman of The Arizona Restaurant Association
Email — [email protected]