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LA’s tourism workers are one step closer to a wage increase by LA28
L.A. City Council voted Wednesday to approve a motion to increase the minimum wage for airport and hotel workers to $30 an hour by 2028.
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Topline:
The L.A. City Council voted Wednesday to raise the city’s minimum wage for hotel and airport workers in time for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics. A final vote on the ordinance is scheduled for May 23.
What’s in the ordinance? Minimum wage for tourism workers would increase to $30 an hour by 2028, which labor leaders are touting as the highest in the U.S. It also requires employers to pay hotel and airport workers an additional $8.35 hourly wage for health benefits.
Backstory: Advocates say that low-wage workers live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to keep up with living costs in L.A.
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What do supporters say? Sonia Ceron, an airport worker, said the wage increase will change her family’s life. “As a single mother, I will no longer be forced to choose between paying the bills or buying her healthy food and saving for college,” Ceron said. Union leaders like David Huerta, president of SEIU-USWW, which represents airport workers, said the council’s vote “sent a loud message that L.A. will invest in workers so they and their families can live where they work.”
What does the industry say: Some businesses said the ordinance would raise labor costs and force some of them to close. Adam Burke, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board, said the city is facing multiple headwinds, including a decline in visitors because of the recent wildfires and long wait times to approve visas.
What’s next: The council voted 12 to 3, with council members Monica Rodriguez, John Lee and Traci Park voting against the motion, which needs a final vote on May 23.
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