Hotel and airport workers in Los Angeles are gearing up for a rally at City Hall on Tuesday, aiming to voice their support for a recently approved minimum wage increase.
The rally is organized by the Tourism Workers Rising Coalition, which includes various labor groups such as Unite Here Local 11, Services Employees International United-United Service Workers West, and LAANE.
During a news conference scheduled for Tuesday morning, coalition members will align with City Council representatives Hugo Soto-Martinez and Ysabel Jurado to denounce a petition that seeks to overturn the wage increase.
The coalition emphasizes the importance of this wage increase for workers who play vital roles in the tourism sector, including room attendants, cooks, dishwashers, and airport staff.
These workers are expected to gather on the south lawn of City Hall to discourage Los Angeles voters from supporting a referendum backed by some business owners who claim the new ordinance will escalate labor costs.
Critics of the wage increase argue that it could lead to layoffs or business closures, particularly as the tourism industry is already grappling with various challenges.
According to a press release from Unite Here Local 11, the hospitality industry has invested over $1 million to fight against the increase, with expectations of spending millions more to influence the referendum.
The union points out that although workers are fighting for a livable wage, the CEOs of major companies in the industry, including Delta Airlines, United Airlines, Hilton, and Marriott, have collectively received over $330 million in compensation over the last two years.
Significant investments into the petition have been reported from Delta, United, and the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
Unite Here Local 11 has a history of advocating for increased wages for tourism workers in surrounding regions.
In 2016, the minimum wage was raised for hotel workers in Santa Monica, followed by increases in West Hollywood in 2021, Glendale in 2022, and a similar wage rise approved by voters in Long Beach in 2024.
On May 30, the Los Angeles City Clerk’s Office announced that the referendum effort led by a coalition of airlines, hotels, and concession companies at Los Angeles International Airport, known as the Los Angeles Alliance for Tourism, Jobs and Progress, was certified.
This petition was filed just two days after Mayor Karen Bass signed the minimum wage ordinance.
To qualify the measure for the June 2026 ballot, the coalition has until June 30 to gather approximately 93,000 signatures from registered Los Angeles voters.
Phil Singer, a spokesman for the coalition, expressed concerns that the wage increase could jeopardize important revenue for the city.
He claimed, “Small businesses will be forced to shut down, workers will lose their jobs, and the economic fallout will stretch across the city.”
Singer emphasized that the coalition is advocating for the city’s future, the preservation of jobs that support communities, and the millions of guests served by the tourism industry annually.
As for the newly approved ordinance, it sets the minimum wage for airport hotel workers at $22.50 an hour starting in July.
The wage will increase by $2.50 annually over the next three years, reaching $25 an hour in July 2026, $27.50 an hour in July 2027, and finally $30 an hour by July 2028.
Additionally, from July 2026, workers will receive a new healthcare payment of $8.35 per hour.
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