Taylor Seely
Arizona Republic
Two months after Phoenix City Council repealed its prevailing wage ordinance over concerns it violated state law, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said cities, counties and towns are free to pass the regulation.
The opinion, issued Thursday, is a win for progressive City Council members in Phoenix and Tempe and local labor leaders who support the regulation as a way to ensure non-unionized workers are paid on a level playing field.
Prevailing wage rules guarantee workers are paid similar rates to others who do comparable work in the area. Without it, some construction workers on city-funded projects could be paid less than market-rate wages, although minimum wage laws are still in effect.
Read:Prevailing wage opinion from Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes
In a contentious March vote, four progressive Phoenix council members teamed up with a conservative to narrowly pass a prevailing wage ordinance for companies hired by the city to complete construction projects costing $250,000 or more.
The City Council repealed the ordinance a month later after two new members were sworn in and after the Goldwater Institute, a conservative and libertarian-leaning think tank, hinted at a possible lawsuit. The Phoenix Chamber of Commerce also spoke out against the ordinance.
Controversial:Phoenix repealed prevailing wage rule for construction workers
Mayes weighed in on the issue, despite Phoenix’s repeal, because state Sen. Catherine Miranda, D-Phoenix, had filed a complaint against the city’s ordinance. The complaint appeared to have strengthened council members’ decision to repeal, which was the opposite of Miranda’s intent, she told The Arizona Republic.
