TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The unofficial results are in for a ballot initiative that would gradually raise the minimum wage in the city of Tucson to $15 an hour.
Voters passed Proposition 206 in Tucson, with 60% voting for the measure and 32% voting against, according to the city's unofficial election results. Some voters did not fill out the proposition on their ballots.
The city still has to certify the results before they're official.
RELATED: Tucson Minimum Wage Act: How will it impact local businesses?
The proposition would raise the minimum wage in Tucson to $15 an hour by 2025, then tie it to the rate of inflation after that. The proposed dates for wage hikes in the proposition are:
- $13 by April 1, 2022
- $13.50 by January 1, 2023
- $14.25 by January 1, 2024
- $15.00 by January 1, 2025
Arizona's current minimum wage is $12.15 after voters statewide approved a measure to raise the minimum wage in 2016. At the time, the minimum wage stood at just over $8 an hour.
"We won," said CJ Boyd, Tucson Fight for Fifteen.
The hike in minimum wage will happen over a three-year period of time. The first increase will be to $13 in April and won't reach $15 until 2025.
“First and foremost we have tens of thousands of folks that are going to be given a raise. That’s the biggest thing obviously,“ said Boyd.
Boyd and his team went door to door ahead of the vote in their fight for fifteen dollars. He says about one hundred local businesses and organizations were on board with the wage hike.
“Whenever we raise the floor — it really affects the whole community and we’ve got folks who are making more than 15 now that should also expect to see raises go up as well,” he said.
Not everyone supported the proposition, Carlos Ruiz, the owner of HT Metals said it would not be good for business.
“I think it puts a barrier between my relationship with my employees and myself as the business owner, and it creates an anti-business climate in Tucson in general,” said Ruiz.
The Prop 206 approval will also mean there will be a new Department of Labor Standards within the City of Tucson. It would oversee worker complaints and employer violations.
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