Tucson passes prevailing wage ordinance

Firms that contract with the city for public works projects will have to show that their employees are being paid a “prevailing wage,” under an ordinance passed Tuesday by Tucson’s city council.

The ordinance, which was first proposed by the council in December, passed 6-0. Ward 2 councilman Paul Cunningham was absent.

“Prevailing wages have long served as a tool to uplift our communities, improve our local economy and protect all workers from being underpaid and taken advantage of,” Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said in a written statement. “This will have a positive impact for families, create a better quality of life for workers by providing economic stability, ensure stable and secure housing, and create opportunities for families to invest in their children’s education.”

A prevailing wage is essentially a minimum wage by trade that is required to be “paid to those workers to ensure their wages are consistent” with local standards and the market around them, said city attorney Mike Rankin in December.

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The new requirements will not apply to projects of less than $2 million dollars and will go into effect on July 1. The wages contractors will have to pay are to be based on U.S. Department of Labor requirements outlined in the Davis-Bacon Act, which passed prevailing wages at the federal level over 90 years ago.

The city will require “timely weekly payments” to be paid to each worker, will prohibit the classification of workers as independent contractors, and will “exclude procurements for projects that are funded in whole or part by” voter-approved projects prior to Jan. 1. The ordinance excludes city projects for affordable housing, as well as projects performed “under job order contracts” as well, according to Mayor and Council communication dated Jan. 9.

Similarly, Phoenix also passed its own prevailing wage ordinance Tuesday night, The Arizona Republic reported. Phoenix’s Mayor and Council rejected the idea in 2021 citing legal concerns. The city passed an ordinance unexpectedly in 2023 before repealing it four weeks later, after two councilmembers “critical to its passage departed office,” the Republic reported.

Tucson and Phoenix are now the only two Arizona cities to adopt such an ordinance, Romero said Tuesday.