Labor advocates and various elected officials are urging Los Angeles County to adopt a minimum wage of at least $25 an hour amidst rising living costs.
On Monday, approximately 150 workers, labor leaders, and Democratic party officials gathered at Wally’s Wine & Spirits in Santa Monica for the launch of an advocacy campaign aimed at raising the minimum hourly wage in L.A. County.
Saru Jayaraman, an attorney from Los Angeles and the president of One Fair Wage, emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating that bold action is necessary for residents to remain in the county.
Citing MIT’s living wage calculator, Jayaraman pointed out that a full-time worker in L.A. County without children would need to earn around $28 an hour to meet basic living expenses including rent, transportation, and food.
Currently, the hourly minimum wage in Los Angeles stands at $17.28, slightly higher than the state minimum by 78 cents.
As of now, no formal wage proposal has been submitted to the county government.
However, labor groups plan to collaborate with the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to discuss the specifics of a potential increase.
The proposed campaign is anticipated to encounter significant opposition from business groups.
This growing initiative comes on the heels of the L.A. City Council’s recent approval to raise wages for airport and hotel workers to $30 an hour by 2028, a controversial move that has already stimulated resistance from the hotel and tourism sectors.
Business leaders have raised concerns that a minimum wage increase would further exacerbate existing vulnerabilities in Southern California’s tourism economy.
Challenges related to international travel, fueled by trade war hostilities and immigration policies, have already prompted warnings that businesses might resort to closing some operations or even completely shutting down.
The coalition of businesses seeking to overturn the recent wage gains—known as the L.A. Alliance for Tourism, Jobs and Progress—must gather around 93,000 signatures in the coming weeks to qualify their measure for a ballot in an upcoming election.
City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, a supporter of the wage boost for tourism workers, acknowledged that labor unions are gearing up for a prolonged confrontation as corporate entities may attempt to reverse policies intended to support workers.
“We are talking about workers being able to buy food, and live in the city they work in,” Hernandez noted.
Holly Mitchell, a member of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, expressed her support for the wage increase at the event, highlighting that many constituents feel they are being pushed out of the region due to high living costs.
Mitchell described the financial strain of surviving in Los Angeles, saying it often takes her breath away.
She advocates for a comprehensive minimum wage increase that spans across all sectors rather than a piecemeal approach, as she believes it is crucial for effective policy-making.
In addition to the tourism sector, healthcare and fast-food workers have also been active in lobbying for better pay at both state and local levels.
For context, in unincorporated areas of L.A. County, the minimum wage is reported to be $17.81, while the federal minimum wage is set at $7.25 per hour.
image source from：https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-06-03/labor-groups-elected-officials-are-pushing-for-a-25-minimum-wage-in-l-a-county
