Mayor Kate Gallego and the Phoenix City Council today passed a prevailing wage ordinance that will ensure workers on city-funded construction projects receive a fair wage. A prevailing wage is the basic hourly rate paid to construction workers based on their trade and is a tool used to ensure level wage standards.
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“Today’s passage of our prevailing wage ordinance is a win for working families in Phoenix,” Gallego said. “After months of hard work and a process that included stakeholder meetings with both labor unions and contractors, I am proud that we have advanced a policy that will benefit those who are building the Phoenix of the future.”
Last April, the Mayor and Council directed City staff to draft a prevailing wage ordinance that would better withstand legal scrutiny, incorporate stakeholder input, provide a phased approach to minimize budgetary impacts, and not hinder execution of capital projects including the 2023 GO Bond Program. In June, the state Attorney General Kris Mayes issued an opinion that cities may regulate the minimum wage paid within its geographic boundaries under Arizona Revised Statutes Section 23-364(I) so long as those wages are not less than the statewide minimum wage.
Per Mayor and Council’s direction and under the guide of the Attorney General’s opinion, City staff held a total of six stakeholder meetings from August to November 2023 to collect input from the labor and contracting communities that ultimately led to the ordinance language approved today.
“Arizona Carpenters Local Union 1912 would like to commend the Phoenix City Council for passage of Ordinance G7217. Today, contractors will be held accountable to taxpayers for higher quality work on public works projects. The Council has shown the value it places on a well-trained workforce and the need for high standard of ethics throughout projects that enhance civic pride in the community. We thank the Phoenix City Council for advocating for apprenticeship training with wages that will retain a skilled workforce,” said Fabian Sandez, Western States Regional Council of Carpenters Regional Manager.
