The Los Angeles City Council voted to pass a $30 minimum wage for hotel and airport employees.
According to The Center Square, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce opposed the measure, writing, “Payroll for hourly employees alone will increase by more than 70% from current costs by the time the $30/hour wage is achieved in 2028. [Transient Occupancy Tax] revenue is the city’s largest unrestricted General Fund revenue source. This revenue is already in decline.”
“The proposed ordinance will only further reduce revenue at a time when the city is facing a half-billion-dollar deficit,” the Chamber of Commerce added.
The meeting lasted more than five hours, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Councilmember Ysabel Jurado said, “When we support low-wage workers, they can contribute to our economy and bolster the city.”
Councilmember John Lee voted against the proposal, explaining that the policy would “take an ax to the local economy.”
According to the L.A. Times, the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers would “go up in increments of $2.50 per year, starting at $22.50 in July and moving to $25 in July 2026, $27.50 in July 2027 and $30 in July 2028.”
“At hotels, housekeepers, desk clerks and other employees would see a 48% hike over 3½ years, compared with the $20.32 per hour currently set by the city’s hotel minimum wage law,” the outlet explained. “They would also receive a new $8.35 per hour payment to cover healthcare.”
Some hotels fear the minimum wage increase will lead to their shut down.
Hotel Per La’s general manager George Unseld said some businesses are “still dealing with the impact of the Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance.”
“As a result, we have had to cut back on services, hours and positions as we are not able to meet our mortgage payments nor are we able to set aside reserves for maintaining the asset,” he said. “We are at risk of having to close our doors, affecting over 100 jobs.”
