By james art GLENDALE, AZ — An organization known as Worker Power has collected signatures to put Proposition 499 on the ballot this year for residents of the city of Glendale.
The proposal would set a minimum wage of $20 an hour for hotel and venue workers, about $5 more than Arizona’s minimum wage.
The proposal would also limit the amount of square footage that hotel room attendants can clean in an 8-hour workday. If the limit is exceeded, the employer will have to pay the employee double wages for each hour that day.
“As Glendale thrives and as the hospitality industry thrives, workers deserve to have a piece of that and be paid fairly for the work they do,” said Rachael Smith, spokeswoman for Worker Power. “The hoteliers who actually make this possible are unable to even have a place to live.”
Worker Power argued that the purpose of the proposal was to support the cost of living of employees. “People who can afford to spend a little more and get out at the end of the month instead of just worrying about paying their rent will be spending back into the community,” Smith said.
A group called Save Glendale Jobs, organized by the Arizona Lodging and Tourism Association, opposes the proposal.
“When mandatory wages go up, hoteliers and event center operators don’t have very good options. So they can raise their room rates or they can start cutting staff hours and jobs,” spokesman Garrick Taylor said.
The organization said it will influence the public sector by demanding that the city of Glendale create its own Department of Labor.
Save Glendale Jobs claims it will also affect the city’s private sector.
“Before you put a shovel in the ground, you need to think about how economically competitive your business will be. Things are going to get a lot more expensive in Glendale if this goes through and developers, including hotel developers, are going to think again about doing business in this city,” Taylor said.
Proposition 499 will be on the ballot in Glendale this Election Day.