A union has dropped its initiative in Arizona that would have capped hospital executives' pay at that of the U.S. president, according to an Associated Press report published by the Times Union.
The California-based Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West decided Monday to stop defending the initiative in court one day before a Maricopa County Superior Court judge was to begin hearing a challenge to petitions that would have qualified the measure to be included on the November ballot, according to the report.
The Arizona Secretary of State's Office last month received petitions calling for a ballot measure to cap the total compensation for any hospital executive, manager or administrator at the take-home pay of the president of the United States: $450,000 per year. The petitions had 281,087 signatures, way more than the approximately 151,000 needed to get the measure on the ballot. But all signatures must be from valid registered voters.
However, the union said it decided not to defend the initiative in court and to use its money elsewhere, according to the report.
"Given the critical importance of electing Hillary Clinton, we have decided not to pursue the executive compensation initiative this election cycle so we can put all of our energy and resources into the presidential race," union spokesperson Sean Wherley said in a written statement, the Associated Press reported. "We remain committed to speaking out about the detrimental effects of excessive executive compensation on our healthcare delivery system."
But the report cited a court filing which said the union had concluded after reviewing the case "that there are not sufficient valid petition signatures for this initiative."
The Arizona Chamber of Commerce was fighting the initiative.
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