The Los Angeles City Council on Friday is expected to give final approval to a bill that would raise the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers to $30 an hour by 2028.
Backed by union organizers, the legislation would impact hotels with more than 60 rooms and restaurant operators doing business at Los Angeles International Airport.
Currently, the hotel minimum wage in LA is $20.32 per hour, and the minimum wage for private employers at LAX is $25.23 per hour, including a required healthcare payment of $5.95. The minimum wage for other hourly workers across the city is $17.28 per hour, though fast-food workers across the state earn $20 per hour at limited-service chains with at least 60 units.
Dubbed the “Olympic wage” by union supporters, which include the labor groups Unite Here 11, SEIU-United Service Workers West, LAANE, CLUE and others, the bill last week was approved by a vote of 12-3. Because it was not unanimous, a procedural vote is scheduled for Friday, but it is expected to pass.
The bill then goes onto the mayor for signature, and then, once signed, would go into effect in July.
Opponents, however, are hoping for a veto, saying the city is still recovering from the pandemic.
The anti-union group Center for Union Facts, for example, ran a full-page ad in the California print edition of USA Today on Thursday depicting a gold medal being thrown in the trash, saying the city is “ruining a golden opportunity” by burdening a tourism industry with unprecedented labor costs. The ad states that the hospitality industry lost 11,000 jobs last year, and the proposed bill will “kill more jobs and raise costs for visitors.”
Hotel operators, business groups and airport concessionaires reportedly said the phased wage increase will add to damage already inflicted by the Trump Administration’s trade war, which has contributed to a 61% decline in tourism in Los Angeles. Several countries that typically send many tourists to LA have issued travel advisories about visiting the United States.
Los Angeles restaurants have also been hit by the lingering impact of wildfires in January, and a film industry slowdown following entertainment industry labor strikes that have sent production elsewhere.
The combined union groups known as Tourism Workers Rising, however, hailed the city council vote as a victory for working families.
Sonia Ceron, a dishwasher for in-flight catering company Flying Food Group, for example, said in a statement that the wage increase will change her life, and that of her daughter.
“As a single mother, I will no longer be forced to choose between paying the bills or buying her healthy food,” Ceron said. “I’ll be able to save for college. This Olympic wage will be good for working families, like mine, the city and our overall economy.”
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