Council Members Price and Yaroslavsky Proposed The Motion
By Staff Writer
A motion in Los Angeles City Council by Councilmembers Curren Price and Katy Yaroslavsky proposes to raise the minimum wage for tourism workers to $25 an hour in 2023, with a plan for another increase to $30 by 2028 as reported by Westside Current.
This plan is supported by tourism workers and labor unions, but business owners, particularly those of smaller, minority-owned businesses, are opposed to such a move. The motion seeks to benefit workers employed in Los Angeles-area hotels with 60 or more rooms. Workers at LAX like airplane cabin cleaners, airline catering workers, janitors, and security officers would also get the pay raise too.
Council member Price argues that the current wage for tourism workers in Los Angeles is not enough to keep them housed. He said that because of the high cost of living in Los Angeles many workers struggle to afford to live in the city where they work. Price posted a tweet that said, “Tourism brings billions of dollars to our economy, and the businesses benefiting from tourism workers’ labor can afford to provide good jobs with fair wages.”
However, hotel industry leaders, such as the Valley Industry and Commerce Association and the Hotel Association of Los Angeles have stated that the proposed wage increase would place a significant financial burden on the already-fragile tourism industry.
Specifically, Westside hotel owners have stated that the proposed 30% increase in wages from the current $18.86 minimum could crush smaller, boutique hotels and family-run businesses and pointed out that the Olympics and World Cup events are still several years away.
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky said that it’s time to raise the wage and make sure that the people who make Los Angeles a world-class destination can afford to live there. Yaroslavsky was the second councilperson who sponsored the ordinance with Price. Council member Hugo Martinez seconded the motion and stated that he believes that this shows that the City Council values labor and the labor movement.
The matter will be studied further by the city council in the future and those meetings will allow all sides to voice their input on the matter. Should the motion succeed, Price plans to raise the wage sometime during 2023.
