Alright, so the Los Angeles City Council went ahead and voted to give workers in the tourism industry a big ol’ raise. The whole thing is supposed to be the highest minimum wage in the country, which sounds pretty impressive, right? But hold on a second, because not everyone is on board with this idea.
Basically, hotels with over 60 rooms and businesses at the airport will have to fork over $30 per hour to their employees by 2028. That’s a 48% jump for hotel workers and a 56% increase for airport folks. And on top of that, they gotta cough up $8.35 per hour for healthcare by 2026. The whole package got the green light with a 12-3 vote, but since it wasn’t a unanimous decision, they gotta vote on it again next week.
Some Councilmembers are not feeling it, though. They’re worried that this wage hike will lead to job cuts, especially in hotels and airport businesses. Councilmember Rodriguez even pointed out that the city itself is facing layoffs because they can’t keep up with the expenses. So, yeah, there’s definitely some pushback on this whole thing.
But hey, on the flip side, you got Councilmember Soto-Martínez over here all pumped about the victory. He’s standing in front of a bunch of unionized workers, talking about how this is finally the government working for the people, not the big corporations. It’s like a David and Goliath kind of moment, you know?
The other side of the coin, though, is that hotel owners and airport businesses are not too thrilled about this. They’re saying it’s gonna hit them hard, especially since tourism has been taking a nosedive thanks to all the international drama with trade wars and border tightening. They’re worried that this wage increase might be the final blow that knocks them out for good.
Now, I’m not really sure why this matters, but apparently, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the UK are all telling their peeps to think twice about visiting the US. So, that’s not exactly great news for LA’s tourism industry. And some hotel owners are straight up saying they might have to shut down their restaurants or even close up shop entirely. And don’t even get them started on the 2028 Olympics – they’re talking about tearing up contracts and backing out of hosting altogether.
But on the bright side, you got folks from Unite Here Local 11 and Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West who are all about this wage increase. They’re saying it’s about time workers get their fair share and can actually afford to live in this crazy expensive city. And you can’t argue with that, right?
At the end of the day, it’s a mixed bag of emotions and opinions. Some are cheering, some are worried, and some are just plain confused about what’s gonna happen next. But hey, that’s life in the big city for ya. Just gotta roll with the punches and see where it all lands.
