Healthy Workforce Ordinance fails in razor-thin vote

If voters needed a reason to bring their reading glasses and a snack to the polls on Tuesday, it was probably because of the 1,900-word Healthy Workforce Ordinance, which filled the back side of the ballot. As precincts reported results throughout the night, the results flip-flopped, but in the end, the initiative failed 50.39 percent […]

Healthy Workforce Ordinance fails in razor-thin vote

If voters needed a reason to bring their reading glasses and a snack to the polls on Tuesday, it was probably because of the 1,900-word Healthy Workforce Ordinance, which filled the back side of the ballot.

As precincts reported results throughout the night, the results flip-flopped, but in the end, the initiative failed 50.39 percent to 49.61 percent. That was a margin of 718 votes out of over 91,000 cast.

In short, the ordinance said employers in the City of Albuquerque would need to provide employees with paid sick time for their own or a family member’s illness, injury or medical care or for absences from work related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

Attorney Pat Rogers, who represented the business coalition that sued to void the initiative, called Tuesday’s vote a “testament to the Albuquerque voter.”

“Voters actually read the ordinance and determined it was a very bad proposal for employees in particular, as well as employers,” he said. “I’m very proud of the Albuquerque voters who saw through the dishonest and fraudulent campaign of the union and OLÉ and Progress Now* and SWOP.” Rogers was referring to the Southwest Organizing Project and other organizations supporting the ordinance.

Proponents of the ordinance were disappointed, but said the larger coalition was about more than just the sick leave ordinance.

“Our larger coalition is about what kind of economic development we want, and what kind of community we want to live in,” said Eric Griego with the New Mexico Working Families Party. “The bigger issue for me is how do working families survive in this Albuquerque economy?”

Griego also criticized the “disinformation and outright lies” from opponents of the ordinance.

“It seems to me that the people who have been continuing to perpetuate this low-wage, low-benefit, low human capital model have a lot of explaining to do,” he said. “A lot of the policies they have pushed are the very policies that have led to a community that struggles with crime, struggles with poverty, struggles with addiction.”

The organizations fighting the paid sick leave ordinance, he said, also opposed raising the minimum wage in the city. “They don’t have an idea for how to build a strong community-based economy. It’s the same old, tired low-wage, low- benefit, race to the bottom.”

With just a few precincts left to report when NM Political Report spoke with him, Griego said that if it didn’t pass, proponents still had options for the future. “It doesn’t go away, we’ll try to work with the next mayor, or the next city council to do it legislatively.” And, he said, they can always put it to voters again in the future.

Had the ordinance passed, employees would have earned one hour of sick time for every 30 hours they’ve worked, and the ordinance would have set different standards for smaller companies than those with 40 or more employees. For example, larger companies would have been required to allow employees to use 56 hours of earned sick leave each year and smaller companies, 40 hours each year.

Companies with policies that already exceed the new requirements don’t have to stack sick time—or reduce benefits to employees. And companies that already allow employees to take paid time off without having to provide a reason, or allow employees to earn additional paid time off, wouldn’t be affected by the changes.

After petitioners submitted the requisite number of signatures to the city clerk to put the ordinance to voters, the Albuquerque city council voted to place it on the  November 2016 ballot.

The Bernalillo County Commission decided not to include the ordinance on that ballot, however. Proponents took the issue to court, but a Bernalillo County District judge said that the “county cannot be forced to include the proposed ordinance” and also ruled that the entire text of the ordinance appear on the ballot, rather than just a summary.

The ordinance was supported by a coalition of groups, including Strong Families New Mexico, OLÉ, Southwest Organizing Project, Center for Civic Policy, New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, El CENTRO de Igualdad y Derechos and New Mexico Working Families Party.

It was opposed by the Albuquerque Coalition for a Healthy Economy, which included more than 30 trade and business organizations ranging from Home Builders of Central New Mexico to the New Mexico Chile Association, New Mexico Council of Outfitters and Guides to the National Association of Women Business Owners.

Opponents also included the New Mexico Restaurant Association, Association of Commerce and Industry and the New Mexico Chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, which is still referred to as NAIOP, from an earlier iteration of its name, National Association for Industrial and Office Parks, as well as the national group Americans for Prosperity and the Rio Grande Foundation.

* ProgressNow New Mexico helps find funding for NM Political Report. No one at ProgressNow New Mexico has any editorial input on this or any other story at NM Political Report.

We're ad free

That means that we rely on support from readers like you. Help us keep reporting on the most important New Mexico Stories by donating today.

Related

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List, a nonprofit that supports women candidates and reproductive rights, endorsed seven incumbents facing general election opponents in New Mexico legislative elections. All…
Equality New Mexico endorses 15 legislative candidates

Equality New Mexico endorses 15 legislative candidates

A New Mexico-based LGBTQ rights organization endorsed 15 candidates for state House and Senate seats for the 2024 elections.  Marshall Martinez, executive director of…
Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pocket vetoed two bills the legislature passed this legislative session: one changing the Cybersecurity Act and the other concerning law…
BLM announces final methane waste rule

BLM announces final methane waste rule

The federal Bureau of Land Management announced its final methane waste rule on Wednesday. These new regulations clamp down on the practice of venting…
What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

Migrating birds appear to have caused a virus in dairy cattle that is causing reduced milk production. So far, the disease, which initially started…
Republicans seek to limit national monument designations

Republicans seek to limit national monument designations

Republican-backed legislation in the U.S. Congress would make it harder for the government to designate new national monuments. The proposed Congressional Oversight of the…
Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican The main things that bring Brayan Chavez to school every day: Seeing, talking to and engaging with…
Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican Brittany Behenna Griffith has a laundry list of adjectives to describe the ideal special education teacher:…
Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican A challenging task awaits New Mexico lawmakers in the next 30 days: Reconciling three very different…
Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Amy Maxmen, KFF Health News Four years after hospitals in New York City overflowed with covid-19 patients, emergency physician Sonya Stokes remains shaken by…
Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday $10 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act was awarded to six tribal nations and…
Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee discussed a potential constitutional amendment that seeks to limit the governor’s executive powers. The committee approved…
Senators introduce legislation to aid abortion providers

Senators introduce legislation to aid abortion providers

Sen. Martin Heinrih and other Senate colleagues introduced abortion rights legislation into the U.S. Senate on Thursday. The Abortion Care Capacity Enhancement and Support…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

Lawyers from the conservative Christian group that won the case to overturn Roe v. Wade are returning to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in pursuit…
Senators introduce legislation to aid abortion providers

Senators introduce legislation to aid abortion providers

Sen. Martin Heinrih and other Senate colleagues introduced abortion rights legislation into the U.S. Senate on Thursday. The Abortion Care Capacity Enhancement and Support…
New Mexico Medicaid to cover cost of over-the-counter oral contraception

New Mexico Medicaid to cover cost of over-the-counter oral contraception

New Mexico Medicaid announced on Wednesday that it will cover the cost of Opill, the first oral contraception approved for over-the-counter use. It is…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
San Juan County, Navajo Nation settle redistricting case

San Juan County, Navajo Nation settle redistricting case

The Navajo Nation and San Juan County reached an agreement Monday about commission districts after the tribe alleged that its members were not adequately…
MIT ranks NM elections most well-run in the U.S.

MIT ranks NM elections most well-run in the U.S.

New Mexico’s 2022 election was ranked most well-run in the country by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Election Data and Science Lab’s Elections Performance Index.…
Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List, a nonprofit that supports women candidates and reproductive rights, endorsed seven incumbents facing general election opponents in New Mexico legislative elections. All…
Ex-GOP candidate allegedly hired people to kill witnesses in shootings of homes of Democratix politicians

Ex-GOP candidate allegedly hired people to kill witnesses in shootings of homes of Democratix politicians

Republican failed state house candidate Solomon Peña is facing more federal charges, this time on a murder-for-hire scheme.  Peña allegedly tried to hire two…
BLM announces final methane waste rule

BLM announces final methane waste rule

The federal Bureau of Land Management announced its final methane waste rule on Wednesday. These new regulations clamp down on the practice of venting…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…

GET INVOLVED

© 2023 New Mexico Political Report