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The D.C. Council on Wednesday gave its initial approval to a bill that would raise the minimum wage of workers at large retaile stores from the ordinary District minimum of $8.25 an hour to $12.50. The Large Retailer Accountability Act passed on an 8-5 vote after a nearly hour-long debate.

The bill has the strong backing of the city’s labor unions and economic advocacy organizations, and was met with stiff, though not insurmountable, opposition from business groups and retail companies. In particular, the bill has been seen a jab at Wal-Mart Inc., which is in the process of opening six stores in D.C. over the next few years.

“The District government has an obligation not just to encourage the development and growth of jobs, but to encourage the development and growth of quality jobs,” D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said before the vote, according to Housing Complex. Joining Mendelson in supporting the bill were Vincent Orange (D-At Large), Anita Bonds (D-At Large), David Grosso (I-At Large), Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), Kenyan MacDuffie (D-Ward 5), and Marion Barry (D-Ward 8).

A few of the Council members who opposed the bill—Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4), Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), and Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7)—represent parts of D.C. where Walmart locations are set to open in the coming years. Bowser and Wells are also candidates in next year’s mayoral election, and their opposition was not lost on their fellow mayoral candidate, Evans.

Evans, along with Mendelson and Orange, also backed an amendment that would apply the living wage only to stores that are at least 75,000 square feet. That facet was in the bill’s original version, but stripped out during the committee process. Because the bill targets companies that take in at least $1 billion a year, The Washington Post notes, it could have affected companies such as Apple and Starbucks.

The bill still has to go through a second vote at the Council’s July 10 legislative session, but already the opposition is reasserting itself. The D.C. Chamber of Commerce was quick to slam today’s vote, calling it a “blow” to the District’s economy.

“This is a bad day not just for District businesses large and small, but for D.C. residents, by dissuading new retailers from locating here and providing needed goods and services,” Barbara Lang, the chamber’s chief executive, said in a statement.

Mayor Vince Gray has also been iffy on the bill. In a letter to the Council today, Gray wrote implementing a higher minimum wage on certain retailers could put the District at a competitive disadvantage at attracting new business. “I appreciate the Council’s efforts to ensure that salaries in the District are high enough to secure a resident’s future,” Gray wrote, “but I believe this bill’s inherent drawbacks must be addressed prior to the Council giving its approval.”

The mayor asked the Council to move “cautiously” in deliberating the living wage bill.

UPDATE, 10:01 p.m.: Tommy Wells, the Ward 6 representative who has strong ties to to the activist community that pushed for the living wage bill, says in a statement released from his office that he voted against it because he believes it would harm some of D.C.’s neediest communities.

“The Large Retailer Act has negative impacts and direct consequences for some of the poorest areas of our city,” Wells says. “The act creates a barrier to getting large grocery stores, other retailers and job creators to locate east of the [Anacostia River], in the communities of our city with the greatest need.”

Not surprisingly, Wal-Mart is also displeased with with Wednesday’s vote. “Whenever government arbitrarily injects significant costs into the system for some businesses and not others, there are negative consequences,” reads a statement from Steven Restivo, a spokesman for the world’s largest retailer. “While we will continue to engage with the Council leading up to the next reading, we also urge Mayor Gray to veto this discriminatory legislation as it runs counter to every economic development platform his administration has identified as a priority for Washington D.C.”