Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego stewarded a rollback of a new prevailing wage ordinance, saying further consultation with lawyers foreshadowed a costly court challenge.
Council members voted Wednesday to reverse a narrow March 22 approval of a prevailing wage requirement when offering city contracts.
Prevailing wage laws require labor contracts to pay labor at the average rate paid to similarly employed workers in the occupation in the area. Prevailing wages are often sought after by labor unions, who would benefit from companies being forced to charge more for contracts despite their ability to pay non-union wages. City Manager Jeffrey Barton estimated the ordinance represented a $60-million cost in the current year alone.
The change in votes reflected the two new members that replaced progressive Vice Mayor Carlos Garcia and conservative councilman Sal DiCiccio, who was term-limited, voted for the measure. Councilwoman Kesha Hodge Washington, a former assistant state’s attorney general, and Councilman Kevin Robinson voted with Gallego Wednesday to roll it back.
“We want to move forward in a way that is legal and financially viable,” Gallego said. “A clear majority of council members here want to make sure that we support our construction workers, and I certainly, unequivocally, want to support the fight for fair wages to our construction workers in particular.”
Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari voiced her disapproval Wednesday.
“I’m disappointed that City Council voted to repeal the March 22nd prevailing wage ordinance today,” Ansari said. “Our construction workers who are building the fifth largest and fastest-growing city deserve fair wages.”
The council was in contact with Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat who could have chosen not to challenge the prevailing wage ordinance in court. That wouldn’t have stopped trade associations from putting the measure before a judge.
The Goldwater Institute wrote Gallego on April 13, representing the Arizona Builders Alliance and the Associated Minority Contractors of Arizona. Goldwater Staff Attorney John Thorpe warned that the prevailing wage ordinance and the associated apprenticeship requirement would run headlong into Arizona law forbidding the practice. State law supersedes city dictates.
“To the extent the enacted version of the ordinance regulates matters that are expressly pre-empted by state law, it exposes the City to a high risk of litigation, as well as costs and attorneys’ fees for parties who successfully challenge the unlawful ordinance,” Thorpe wrote.
Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
