Labor group sues Glendale over rejected ballot measure to raise hotel worker's wages

The labor group backing a proposed measure to raise the minimum wage for hospitality workers in Glendale is suing the city for denying the initiative’s placement on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Worker Power, a political action committee that wanted, among other things, to give local hotel and event center employees a $20-an-hour minimum wage, alleges that Glendale and City Clerk Julie Bower didn’t have the authority to reject the proposal.

Glendale declined to advance the measure because it didn’t comply with the Arizona Constitution’s “ single-subject rule ” — a provision requiring acts, or laws, to pertain to one topic.

In addition to the minimum wage hike, the initiative would have asked voters to approve a yearly bump for the workers to reflect cost of living increases. It also looked to impose limits on how many rooms attendants can clean in a day before doubling their pay, establish a local labor standards agency and give workers all the service charges hotels collect from guests.

In her rejection letter, Bower stated that the initiative, the “Hotel and Event Center Minimum Wage Protection Act,” isn’t “limited to one subject” and therefore “doesn’t meet the constitutional requirement” for ballot placement.

Worker Power disagreed with the city’s assessment of the measure, prompting the lawsuit challenging the decision.

“Nothing in the Arizona Constitution (authorizes) the City Clerk to reject a proposed citizen initiative because the clerk believes that the substance of the measure is unconstitutional,” the lawsuit stated.

Bower told The Arizona Republic earlier this month that her office was processing the nearly 9,000 signatures Worker Power received from Glendale voters who supported the measure’s ballot placement.

The clerk’s office, she said, had 20 business days from the July 3 filing deadline to finish, or about the end of the month.

In the lawsuit, Worker Power stated that Bower is delaying the process by “refusing to accept the entire petition based on an alleged constitutional defect” in the petition. The delay, the group argued, threatens the measure’s ability to get on the ballot this fall.

Citing the time-sensitive nature, Worker Power is asking the Maricopa County Superior Court to force the clerk to continue processing the measure, even as the matter goes through the legal system.

City officials did not respond to requests for comment.

In its complaint, Worker Power argued that the measure didn’t violate the single-subject rule as it was all related to the local hospitality industry’s compensation for employees.

“The City of Glendale has repeatedly taken steps to prioritize the profits of businesses over working-class residents who power its burgeoning hospitality industry,” Worker Power Executive Director Brendan Walsh said in a press release.

“The city has no legitimate basis for rejecting the initiative signatures,” he continued. “It is clearly an antidemocratic measure taken in the service of hospitality industry employers and against the interests of working people in Glendale.”

Worker Power needed to collect 5,905 valid signatures from eligible Glendale voters for the initiative to qualify for the upcoming election. It submitted 8,976 signatures to the city on July 3.

The measure comes as Glendale’s economy continues to get a boost from the expanding tourism and hospitality industry, notably within the Sports and Entertainment District.

As the influx of hotels and resorts has helped drive the local economy, their workers deserve to be compensated fairly, Worker Powers says.

It’s pushing for the measure because the employees receive low wages and are forced to moonlight to pay their bills. Such wages are “often economically restrictive,” meaning employees lack buying power at local stores and live paycheck to paycheck.

According to salary.com, general hotel workers in the state are paid about $13 an hour — less than Arizona’s minimum hourly wage of $14.35 for 2024.

Hotel, motel and resort desk clerks working in Arizona in 2023 earned an average wage of $15.66 an hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest data.

Local business groups are staunchly opposed to the measure, which they believe will force hotels to drive up room prices and cut staff, effectively harming the economy.

This week, they’ve lauded the city’s decision.

“The union clearly hasn't followed the rules for ballot initiatives. If there are further legal proceedings, we anticipate the union will fail again,” Arizona Lodging and Tourism President and CEO Kim Grace Sabow said in an emailed statement.

“The Glendale tourism industry is thriving with so much to offer for visitors, while creating great, well-paying jobs,” she added. “Why would we want to put all that at risk?”

Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry President and CEO Danny Seiden echoed the sentiment, stating in a separate email that “a proposal that contains several bad ideas and that clearly violates the law should come nowhere near the ballot.”

A court hearing on the case this week gave the city until Thursday to file a response to Worker Power’s complaint. Worker Power will then have until Monday to respond.

The judge in the case, according to Worker Power, is expected to rule by Aug. 2.

Shawn Raymundo covers the West Valley cities of Glendale, Peoria and Surprise. Reach him at sraymundo@gannett.com or follow him on X @ShawnzyTsunami.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Labor group sues Glendale over rejected ballot measure to raise hotel worker's wages