Arizona Chamber to talk minimum wage in Fountain Hills

The $12 minimum wage by 2020 ballot initiative has cleared the Maricopa County Superior Court and will be on the November ballot as Proposition 206.

Just last week Judge Joshua Rogers questioned the validity of 5,250 signatures and disqualified some of the circulators. While the number of signatures is low compared to the 150,620 collected, it does represent a sampling and has called into question the tactics used to obtain the signatures.  

Read more in the Arizona Republic here.

During the up-coming Public Policy meeting on Thursday, August 25, Garrick Taylor from the Arizona Chamber will be discussing the Chamber’s position. A summary is below from their July 7, 2016 press release.

PHOENIX (July 7, 2016) – Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry President and CEO Glenn Hamer released the following statement regarding the filing of petition signatures by advocates of a ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage in Arizona to $12:

“This initiative is bad for Arizona. If it passes, the very people the proposition’s organized labor supporters claim to want to help will be the most harmed. The poor, young people and those with few skills who would benefit most from an entry-level job will find themselves shut out of the job market as employers will have fewer dollars to devote to new hires.

“Business faced with the extreme hike in costs and the additional workplace mandates called for by the initiative will be left only with bad options. Employers could lay off employees, raise prices, institute hiring freezes, invest in automation that will make employees unnecessary, or even close up shop.

“Arizona already has a minimum wage above the federal government’s that adjusts annually based on a rise in the cost of living. This initiative simply goes too far.

“The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry is strongly opposed to this anti-jobs initiative and will work hard to ensure it does not pass in November.”

Members of the Fountain Hills Chamber are encouraged to attend the Thursday, August 25 meeting from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm by registering here.