Union launches dueling ballot measures, escalating fight over LA's tourism worker wage hike
The hospitality union that won a major increase in the minimum wage for Los Angeles hotel and airport workers is escalating its fight with a hotel and airline industry group, which recently launched a campaign to repeal the wage hike.
Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel and restaurant workers, filed paperwork Monday for a pair of ballot proposals.
One would raise the minimum wage for all workers in the city to $30 by July 2028. The other would force a public vote on the construction of large hotels or major hotel expansions.
That measure would also require a public vote on the development or expansion of "event centers," such as sports stadiums, concert halls or the city's Convention Center.
Union officials described the proposed ballot measures as a response to an effort launched last month by a group of airlines and hotel businesses to overturn a city ordinance hiking the minimum wage of hotel and airport workers in Los Angeles to $30 an hour by 2028 by forcing a citywide vote on the measure.
Unite Here Local 11 co-President Kurt Petersen said the wage proposal addresses criticism from business groups that the tourism industry had been singled out for wage increases.
"We agree that all workers should make more," Petersen said. "We are hopeful since (airlines and hotels) think that only giving a living wage to one group is unfair, that they will immediately endorse it."
Petersen said the second proposal would give voters a direct say in major hotel and event center projects subsidized by the city, as well as those that could take up valuable real estate that otherwise could be used to develop housing.
The proposal would require that major development projects - including the creation of new hotels with 80 or more rooms, or 80-room expansions to existing hotels - seek voter approval before receiving construction permits.
The development of event spaces with more than 50,000 square feet or with a seating capacity of 1,000 seats would similarly require voter approval, as would any development projects that receive a city subsidy, such as a gift of land or tax rebates.
Petersen had previously said it was hypocritical for business leaders to fight wage increases at the same time they were pressing the City Council to spend tens of millions of dollars preparing for a renovation of the Los Angeles Convention Center, a decision made in April.
The council voted last month to approve the airport and hotel worker wage hikes, which were championed by Unite Here Local 11 and Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West.
The unions billed the proposal as an "Olympic wage," one that would ensure that their members can keep up with the rising cost of food and rent. They also argued that corporations should not be the only ones to benefit financially from the Olympic Games, scheduled to be held in L.A. in 2028.
Soon after, a coalition of businesses, known as the L.A. Alliance for Tourism, Jobs and Progress, filed paperwork to halt the law and put the issue on the ballot instead, hoping to persuade voters to repeal the ordinance.
The alliance has argued for several weeks that the wage hike will hurt the industry, forcing businesses to lay off workers and thwarting the development of new hotels.
On Monday, the group described the plan to require public votes on hotel and convention center projects as "one union killing other union jobs."
"The initiative being proposed will kill the Convention Center project that union workers would otherwise have and the tourism industry would benefit from," the alliance said in a statement. "The union can play its games, but we remain focused on protecting L.A. residents from lasting, widespread job loss."
One business leader separately voiced alarm about the hotel union's citywide minimum wage wage proposal, warning it would cause companies to pull out of L.A. and relocate to neighboring cities, counties and states.
"People will lose their jobs. Businesses will close," said Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, which is based in the San Fernando Valley. "The city will become a barren land of empty storefronts and empty office buildings as employers go elsewhere."
An official at the city's tourism department declined comment on the event center proposal, saying he had not yet read it.
To successfully place the measure on the ballot in an upcoming election, the union and other backers would need to collect about 140,000 signatures within 120 days, organizers said.
The hotel minimum wage, approved by the council in 2014, currently stands at $20.32 per hour. The minimum wage for private-sector employees at Los Angeles International Airport is $25.23 per hour, once those workers' $5.95 hourly healthcare payment is included.
For nearly everyone else in L.A., the hourly minimum wage is $17.28, which is 78 cents higher than the state's.
Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Edmonton may revise zoning bylaw to reduce mid-block multi-family units
A number of Edmonton city councillors are in favour of amending the city's contentious zoning bylaw, in one way by reducing the number of allowable units in new multi-family buildings, from eight to six. The zoning bylaw — a year-and-a-half old — allows developers to build eight-plexes in neighbourhoods across the city. The revised zoning bylaw that went into effect in January 2024, reflects the city's goal to create more housing types and denser neighourhoods. Michael Janz, Ward papastew councillor, raised a motion at the city's urban planning committee meeting Tuesday, to cap the number of units in the middle of a block. "In the corners, you can still build bigger units but for the mid-block, it's a recognition that there are greater impacts on your neighbours mid-block," Janz told CBC News. He said 80 per cent of the complaints he receives about infill have been about mid-block units. "We want to see more density in the nodes and corridors, more density in the priority growth areas, more density on corners, not necessarily the unit maximum in a mid-block area." The committee voted in favour of the motion, which goes before a public hearing June 30 for debate, along with other suggested amendments to the zoning bylaw. But other councillors, not members of the urban planning committee, oppose the change at this time. Coun. Anne Stevenson said it's still too early to gauge the outcome of developments. "I'm not sure exactly which problems we're trying to solve with this. I know that there are concerns around parking," Stevenson told CBC News Tuesday. "At this point we have a very, very small sample size of units that have actually been completed and occupied. So I don't think at this point we know how those will work, what impacts they'll have." Zoning bylaw update The committee was discussing a report that provided an update on developments over the past five years. It shows the city issued 555 development permits in 2024 for housing, resulting in 2,403 new residential dwelling units. More than half of the approved units were for row housing, the report says. The number of housing units approved in 2024 doubled from 2023, the report shows. "Since 2019 there has been an increase in all forms of multi-dwelling housing, including backyard, semi-detached and row housing developments," the report says. Members of the public spoke at the urban planning committee, some in support and some in opposition to limiting the number of units. Jan Hardstaff, a resident of Belgravia, said the rate of development over the past year has been overwhelming to communities. "There has been a surge in eight-plexes are not compatible mid-block to surrounding development," Hardstaff told the committee. "They are alarmed, anxious and angry at what they are seeing, and they are experiencing real negative impacts." Janz and Stevenson say council will consider future revisions to the zoning bylaw when needed.
Miami Herald
4 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Union launches dueling ballot measures, escalating fight over LA's tourism worker wage hike
The hospitality union that won a major increase in the minimum wage for Los Angeles hotel and airport workers is escalating its fight with a hotel and airline industry group, which recently launched a campaign to repeal the wage hike. Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel and restaurant workers, filed paperwork Monday for a pair of ballot proposals. One would raise the minimum wage for all workers in the city to $30 by July 2028. The other would force a public vote on the construction of large hotels or major hotel expansions. That measure would also require a public vote on the development or expansion of "event centers," such as sports stadiums, concert halls or the city's Convention Center. Union officials described the proposed ballot measures as a response to an effort launched last month by a group of airlines and hotel businesses to overturn a city ordinance hiking the minimum wage of hotel and airport workers in Los Angeles to $30 an hour by 2028 by forcing a citywide vote on the measure. Unite Here Local 11 co-President Kurt Petersen said the wage proposal addresses criticism from business groups that the tourism industry had been singled out for wage increases. "We agree that all workers should make more," Petersen said. "We are hopeful since (airlines and hotels) think that only giving a living wage to one group is unfair, that they will immediately endorse it." Petersen said the second proposal would give voters a direct say in major hotel and event center projects subsidized by the city, as well as those that could take up valuable real estate that otherwise could be used to develop housing. The proposal would require that major development projects - including the creation of new hotels with 80 or more rooms, or 80-room expansions to existing hotels - seek voter approval before receiving construction permits. The development of event spaces with more than 50,000 square feet or with a seating capacity of 1,000 seats would similarly require voter approval, as would any development projects that receive a city subsidy, such as a gift of land or tax rebates. Petersen had previously said it was hypocritical for business leaders to fight wage increases at the same time they were pressing the City Council to spend tens of millions of dollars preparing for a renovation of the Los Angeles Convention Center, a decision made in April. The council voted last month to approve the airport and hotel worker wage hikes, which were championed by Unite Here Local 11 and Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West. The unions billed the proposal as an "Olympic wage," one that would ensure that their members can keep up with the rising cost of food and rent. They also argued that corporations should not be the only ones to benefit financially from the Olympic Games, scheduled to be held in L.A. in 2028. Soon after, a coalition of businesses, known as the L.A. Alliance for Tourism, Jobs and Progress, filed paperwork to halt the law and put the issue on the ballot instead, hoping to persuade voters to repeal the ordinance. The alliance has argued for several weeks that the wage hike will hurt the industry, forcing businesses to lay off workers and thwarting the development of new hotels. On Monday, the group described the plan to require public votes on hotel and convention center projects as "one union killing other union jobs." "The initiative being proposed will kill the Convention Center project that union workers would otherwise have and the tourism industry would benefit from," the alliance said in a statement. "The union can play its games, but we remain focused on protecting L.A. residents from lasting, widespread job loss." One business leader separately voiced alarm about the hotel union's citywide minimum wage wage proposal, warning it would cause companies to pull out of L.A. and relocate to neighboring cities, counties and states. "People will lose their jobs. Businesses will close," said Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, which is based in the San Fernando Valley. "The city will become a barren land of empty storefronts and empty office buildings as employers go elsewhere." An official at the city's tourism department declined comment on the event center proposal, saying he had not yet read it. To successfully place the measure on the ballot in an upcoming election, the union and other backers would need to collect about 140,000 signatures within 120 days, organizers said. The hotel minimum wage, approved by the council in 2014, currently stands at $20.32 per hour. The minimum wage for private-sector employees at Los Angeles International Airport is $25.23 per hour, once those workers' $5.95 hourly healthcare payment is included. For nearly everyone else in L.A., the hourly minimum wage is $17.28, which is 78 cents higher than the state's. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Chicago Tribune
4 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Landmarking advances for Pilsen's St. Adalbert Catholic Church, Polish advocates left frustrated
A late compromise helped landmark status for Pilsen's St. Adalbert Catholic Church finally move ahead Tuesday, a decisive step in a fierce preservation battle. The City Council's Zoning Committee unanimously approved a plan to give the shuttered church a landmark designation, teeing up a final vote Wednesday. But the Polish parishioners who long sought the preservation status left City Hall infuriated by what they described as a last-second 'backroom deal' that sets up the sale of the Archdiocese of Chicago land to a nondenominational church. 'It's what our ancestors sacrificed for. We're talking about poor farmers,' said Julie Sawicki, president of the Society of St. Adalbert group fighting for the church to reopen as a Catholic sacred space. 'You think that they did all that so that one day this could be just treated like a real estate broker, like bargaining chips? No, this was intended for perpetuity.' Previous landmarking proposals included each building on the 2-acre plot, highlighted by the Renaissance Revival church. On Tuesday, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, presented a substitute plan that only granted the church building the landmark status, but left out the former rectory, convent and school. That narrowed preservation plan came with the support of Preservation Chicago, a leading local preservation advocate. It also won approval from the Archdiocese, which closed St. Adalbert's in 2019 and has since fought the landmarking push. The Archdiocese has argued it must sell the St. Adalbert complex to avoid costly upkeep costs and fund the active St. Paul Parish nearby, a transaction potentially harmed by landmarking. Aldermen also had to deal with a deadline: If they did not vote on the Commission on Chicago Landmarks' preservation recommendation this month, the entire complex would have been automatically landmarked. Archdiocesan leaders feared that sweeping designation would prevent a planned sale of the property to People Church, a nondenominational Christian ministry that currently holds services at Roberto Clemente Community Academy. 'We have worked transparently with all stakeholders throughout this process and are grateful to those in city leadership who support limited landmarking,' the Archdiocese wrote in a statement before the vote. The towering church building — currently covered in scaffolding the Archdiocese says is needed to prevent ongoing decay — is the 'crown jewel' of the property, Preservation Chicago Executive Director Ward Miller said after the vote. The new status will preserve the exterior of the building, but allow for changes to be made for its new owners inside and on other parts of the property, he said. 'We're very pleased that we came to a compromise here. The most important of the buildings has been landmarked,' Miller said. Sigcho-Lopez defended the more-tailored designation as a 'win for the community' that came after public meetings and open conversations. He previously pushed for the broader landmark designation last year, but lost when his Zoning Committee colleagues decided to delay consideration in a 10-to-4 September vote. 'We did justice to what we heard from the community, a landmark designation that protects the use of the building,' Sigcho-Lopez said. 'That is a fair compromise.' Sigcho-Lopez said he has not yet heard how People Church plans to develop the land, and People Church did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon. The alderman acknowledged the frustration of the dogged former parishioners who want St. Adalbert's to reopen as a Catholic church. 'I don't have jurisdiction over that,' he said. But many of the Polish former St. Adalbert's parishioners pinned blame on the Pilsen alderman for failing to preserve the entire church complex. After the vote, Sawicki criticized Sigcho-Lopez for not effectively working with other aldermen and said advocates backing the full-property preservation were not made aware of the compromise. 'This was not done with community input,' she said. The Society of St. Adalbert group has long fought for St. Adalbert's to reopen as a Catholic sacred space funded by the use of the church complex's many buildings, including as a potential retreat center. In their bid to save the church, activists have attended raucous and insult-ridden City Hall hearings, stormed into other parishes in protest and even, in the case of one 73-year-old woman, been arrested for trespassing while opposing the removal of stained glass windows and art. The fight continued Tuesday, when dozens again donned the red and white of the Polish flag and filled the seats inside City Council chambers. Sawicki criticized the Archdiocese for deciding to sell instead of using St. Adalbert's to grow its Catholic ranks. The church complex could still be used to respond to a coming wave of Catholic tourism tied to the May election of Pope Leo XVI, of Dolton, she said. 'It's ridiculous, it's short-sighted, it's misguided,' Sawicki said. 'They are dumping millions of dollars into shutting churches, merging them. Why don't you use that brain power and money instead to figure out ways of bringing people back.' The group supports landmarking moving forward tomorrow because the church building will otherwise not be protected, but it now plans to push separately for the landmarking of the other buildings, Sawicki said.
