LA Hotel, Airport Workers Win Vote on $30 Minimum Wage

In time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, arriving in 2028, the Los Angeles City Council has voted in favor of raising the minimum wage for tourism industry workers, with pay rising to $30 per hour. That's a 48% increase over three years for employees of hotels with more than 60 rooms and companies that do business at the airport, the Los Angeles Times reports. Those businesses also would have to contribute $8.35 per hour for their health care by next summer. The 12-3 decision on Wednesday, which requires a second vote next week, touched off union celebrations and warnings from businesses that the area already is seeing fewer tourists from other countries. The debate:

• Starting point: The hotel minimum wage now is $20.32 per hour. The minimum wage for private-sector employees at LAX is $25.23 per hour, if the required $5.95 hourly health care payment is counted. Almost all other workers in Los Angeles have a minimum wage of $17.28 per hour, which is 78 cents higher than California's minimum.
• From the council: "For years, our hotel and airport workers have done the heavy lifting—welcoming millions, keeping LA moving and powering the city's growth," said Councilman Curren Price in a statement. "This policy is about respect, recognition, and fair pay for the workers who've always been essential to LA's success." Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez said business will cut staffing, saying the city government has a similar problem. "We are right now facing 1,600 imminent layoffs because the revenue is just not matching our expenditures," Rodriguez said. "The same will happen in the private sector."

• The business view: Several hotel owners have said the increase would cause them to cut back restaurant operations or even make no future investments in the city. Business groups said that the area hasn't recovered from the pandemic and that tourism from other countries is falling because of President Trump's trade war. The tourism board said Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the UK have issued formal advisories to their nations about visiting the US. Gov. Gavin Newsom has forecast a 1% slip in overall visitation to California and a 9.2% plunge in international visitation for this year, per KNBC. "Hotel employees in Los Angeles are paid the highest wages in the country, but right now their jobs are at risk," the CEO of the American Hotel and Lodging Association said before the vote.
• The workers' view: A pro-union advocacy group said the area heard similar warnings before wage increases in the past that didn't pan out. Higher wages benefit the area, the advocates maintain. "People with more money in their pockets—they spend it," said Jessica Durrum. Workers told the council they're struggling to keep up with inflation, sometimes working two jobs, and need better health care. "Do this for workers. Do this for single families. Do this for parents like myself," Jovan Houston, an airport customer service agent, told the council.

(More Los Angeles stories.)