Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry President and CEO Glenn Hamer recently said a petition advocating a ballot initiative to raise Arizona's minimum wage to $12 is a bad idea.

“This initiative is bad for Arizona," Hamer said in a statement."If it passes, the very people the proposition’s organized labor supporters claim to want to help will be the most harmed. The poor, young people and those with few skills who would benefit most from an entry-level job will find themselves shut out of the job market as employers will have fewer dollars to devote to new hires.

Businesses faced with the extreme hike in costs and the additional workplace mandates called for by the initiative will be left only with bad options, Hamer said.

"Employers could lay off employees, raise prices, institute hiring freezes, invest in automation that will make employees unnecessary or even close up shop," Hamer said. “Arizona already has a minimum wage above the federal government’s that adjusts annually based on a rise in the cost of living. This initiative simply goes too far."

Hamer said the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry is strongly opposed to this anti-jobs initiative and will work hard to ensure it does not pass in November.