Image: Courtesy of VAI Resort
By Jeremy Duda | Axios
An advocacy group tied to a powerful labor union has become a major player in local elections over land development issues in recent years.
The big picture: Worker Power, a nonprofit connected to Unite Here Local 11, which represents about 32,000 hotel, restaurant and airport workers in Arizona and southern California, has become a key player in fights over high-profile land-use decisions.
State of play: In Glendale, Scottsdale and Tempe, Worker Power has led or supported campaigns to block major commercial projects, often citing concerns about transparency, community input and corporate accountability.
In Glendale, the group spearheaded a ballot measure last year to raise the minimum wage for hotel and event center workers to $20 an hour, up from the state minimum wage — $14.70. Hotels and venues would have been exempted if they entered into collective bargaining agreements with their workers.
- Voters rejected that proposal.
- It collected signatures to force a public vote next month on zoning changes for a corporate office at the incoming VAI Resort.
