Court asked for guidance on wage ballot question

LAWRENCE -- The township is questioning the legality of a proposed ballot question that would affect large employers such as Wal-Mart.

The township attorney has filed an "order to show cause" about the legality of putting a question on the Nov. 7 ballot that would require large retailers to boost the wages and benefits of their employees.

Aimed at "big box" retailers like the proposed Wal-Mart on Spruce Street and the new stores figuring into a Quaker Bridge Mall expansion, the measure has been proposed by residents who belong to the Lawrence Living Wage Coalition.

The action taken yesterday in Superior Court by Lawrence Township takes the position that it is "not to defeat the initiative process for this proposed ordinance, but rather to obtain a determination regarding the legality of its submission on the election ballot."

On July 10, the Lawrence Living Wage Coalition presented 1,054 signatures to the township clerk supporting a "large retail and living wage ordinance" that would target establishments of more than 100,000 square feet of indoor space and with corporate revenues of $1 billion or more annually." Those retailers would be required to pay their employees not less than $11.08 an hour and to provide benefits equivalent to $3.50 an hour.

"The township is seeking guidance from the court as to the legality of the petition," Lawrence Mayor Michael Powers said. "The issue is whether the Legislature has exclusive control over setting a wage rate. The clerk has a Sept. 8 deadline for getting authorization to put this on the ballot, which is why we're seeking emergency judgment."

Bianca Agustin, a senior research analyst with the Service Employees International Union who was at a township planning board meeting Monday representing 14 janitors at Quaker Bridge Mall, expressed her support for such an ordinance. She said the mall janitors make from $8.75 to $10.50 an hour, with the higher-paid employees having "a significantly higher amount of work."

People opposing the Wal-Mart in Lawrence surfaced soon after its 2004 proposal to build a 143,233-square-foot building on a 23.5-acre lot on Spruce Street near Arctic Parkway. Wal-Mart has revised its plans, but the opposition from residents remains.

Carol M. Lerner, who helped collect the petition signatures over a six-week period, said the coalition grew out of opposition to Wal-Mart.