After emotional statements from Disneyland workers and Anaheim business owners, a divided Anaheim City Council voted Tuesday to put on the November ballot a measure that would require hospitality operations that accept a city subsidy to pay a “living wage.”
The council narrowly rejected a proposal to first call for an economic analysis of the impact of the initiative.
The measure to raise hourly salaries for thousands of Anaheim workers has sparked heated debate between unions for Disneyland Resort workers, who say many employees don’t earn enough to pay for their basic needs, and business leaders, who say the requirement to pay higher wages will kill economic growth in the city.
During a lengthy council hearing, the measure pitted restaurant, theme park and hotel workers from the Disneyland Resort against construction workers who said they feared the wage initiative would scare off the developers of high-end hotels — and construction jobs — proposed for Anaheim.
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