Bid to repeal L.A.’s $30 hotel minimum wage fails to qualify for the ballot

The business group looking to repeal a $30 per hour minimum wage for Los Angeles hotel and airport workers failed to secure enough signatures to qualify the proposal for the ballot, city officials said Monday.

The L.A. Alliance for Tourism, Jobs and Progress had been hoping to persuade voters to repeal the wage ordinance approved by the City Council four months ago. The referendum needed about 93,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot but fell short by about 9,000, according to a statement from interim City Clerk Petty Santos.

Hugo Soto-Martínez, L.A. City Council member for District 13, celebrates with other union leaders and members at City Hall after the defeat of a measure to overturn the hotel minimum wage.

(Gary Coronado / For The Times)

Los Angeles City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, a former organizer with the union that represents hotel workers, hailed the result.

“This outcome sends a clear message to corporate interests in LA and across the country: working people can fight and win, no matter how much money or misinformation is used to stop us,” he said in a statement.

The council voted in May to approve a series of yearly wage increases for hotel employees and workers at Los Angeles International Airport, following a two-year campaign by labor organizers.

Under the ordinance, the hourly minimum wage for those workers would increase to $22.50 in July, then $25 in July 2026, $27.50 in July 2027 and $30 in July 2028, right before the Olympic Games in L.A. But once opponents turned in their signatures, the measure was placed on hold.

The tourism alliance, which received major financial backing from Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and the American Hotel & Lodging Assn., called on Mayor Karen Bass to broker a compromise that would soften the impact of the higher wage on the tourism industry.

“It’s clear that the ordinance will jeopardize jobs, push hotels to the brink of closure, severely cut tax revenue the city desperately needs, and leave the city grossly unprepared for the 2028 Olympic Games,” the group said.

Backers of the minimum wage law, who billed themselves as the Defend The Wage LA Coalition, called Monday’s announcement “a historic victory over some of the world’s largest corporations who spent over $3 million in a campaign that deceived Angelenos.”

Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, speaks at Los Angeles City Hall during the celebration of the defeat of a measure to overturn the hotel and airport minimum wage.

(Gary Coronado / For The Times)

“It’s unprecedented. It’s historic. It speaks volumes about Angelenos and their support of working people,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel workers. “The other side had all the money, and we had what was morally right, and the determination and the solidarity of the city.”

Supporters of the $30 minimum wage say it will deliver a major financial boost to tourism workers who have been struggling to keep up with the cost of housing, food and other essentials. Opponents warned it would result in tourism industry layoffs — and a halt to the construction of new hotels in L.A.

Passage of the ordinance was a huge victory for both Unite Here and Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West, the union that represents airport workers. Both groups waged a vigorous campaign to convince voters who regretted signing the business group’s petition to later withdraw their names.

The celebration at L.A. City Hall.

(Gary Coronado / For The Times)

Unite Here also filed a complaint with city and state officials alleging that petition circulators had made false statements and misrepresentations to convince voters to support the measure.

Meanwhile, the group that fought the minimum wage ordinance asked L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman to launch an investigation into whether opponents of the referendum “committed pervasive fraud and illegal conduct” while working to peel away voter support.

Over the last few months, the battle over the $30 minimum wage has triggered an all-out ballot measure war between organized labor and business groups.

Weeks after the tourism alliance filed its referendum paperwork, Unite Here submitted a quartet of ballot proposals that would place new regulations on businesses. One would require voter approval of a wide range of real estate projects, while another would hike the minimum wage for every worker in L.A. to $30 by 2028.

Soon afterward, business leaders filed paperwork for another ballot measure — this one to repeal the city’s business tax. Such a move would strip about $800 million from the city’s general fund budget, which pays for police officers, firefighters and other basic services.

Bass and other city leaders spoke out against that proposal, saying it would result in deep cuts to public safety services.

Petersen, the hotel union co-president, said his organization intends to press ahead with its other ballot initiatives.

“It’s clear people want workers to make more and they want corporations to pay their fair share, so we’re doubling down,” he said.

The business coalition offered a similar message, suggesting it would look into other ballot proposals to cut the cost of doing business in L.A.

“The business community will stand strong in fighting back and ensuring Los Angeles can return to being an affordable city to work and live in,” the group said.