West Hollywood’s business community honored dozens of beloved stores and restaurants that have closed over the past several years with a candlelight vigil at a popup cemetery Monday evening outside West Hollywood Library, where City Council was set to re-evaluate the minimum wage policies that critics say have hastened the die-off of local businesses.
The well-attended protest was organized by the WeHo Chamber of Commerce and was filmed by TV news media.
The “My WeHo” campaign is asking City Council to delay the increase in minimum wage that’s scheduled for July, to reduce the amount of paid time off and sick leave that employers are required to give part-time employees and to include tips and commissions as part of employees’ total compensation calculation.
I think it’s a terrible idea. These min wage workers have been struggling forever. This is NOT fair. Read any California paper and they each and all cite lack of affordable housing and people who can’t live in the areas that they work. Long commutes and struggles with all the verisimilitude of life that we all face. My auto insurance increased 46%, My rent increases next month. My phone/internet increases, etc. Greedy corporations still milking profits at grocery stores. You will never close the income inequality gap – vaster than at any time in US history – by taking incremental… Read more »
I think you should focus your thoughts on greedby politicians. The ones that cost you $1.21 on every gallon of gas, or tax every business $35,000 for every 100k earned and then on the balance leftover they tax your income. Add in the sales tax on every purchase, the cost of rent, and freight, contributions to medical plans and vacation pay and you might reconsider that perspective that all the revenue is going to a business owners pockets. Its all going to politicians and large government salaries and pensions that far exceed what is available to any average union worker.… Read more »
Politicians through the ages have created the most unfair tax policies, which have caused the great divide in earnings, income, wealth, etc.
But they’ve all done it in favor of the wealthy, the powerful, which consists of individuals and corporations.
As part of the November 20, 2023 meeting, staff prepared a memo providing the new and closed business tax certificate information for calendar years 2021, 2022, and 2023. During that meeting, City Council directed staff to provide the additional years of 2018 and 2019 regarding the number of new businesses and the number of closed businesses. The data regarding the number of new business tax certificates and the number of closed business tax certificates is provided in the table below for calendar years 2018 through 2023.It should be noted that the business types of home-based business, landlord, valetPage 9 of… Read more »
The greedy greedy greedy business owners have a much higher standard of living than the slaves they hire. Put caps on the commercial rents! That’s a business expense that strains business owners, too, and yet you never hear about that. The greedy greedy landlords who are charging the high rents can afford to have a cap on their rent easier than the slaves can afford to have a low minimum wage. Put your priorities straight. This is because the rich greedy greedy landlords have more influence with city government than all the slaves who work here. Those business owners can… Read more »
You know those greedy greedy landlords and greedy greedy business owners are mostly Democrats and California’s state House and Senate are run by Democrats. Calling employees of business owners slaves shows your arrogance toward the working class who you are pretending to be speaking for.
Greed knows no party.
How about the greedy greedy governor and other politicians that add almost $.80 to every gallon of gas we buy at the gas pump????? If your tank holds 20 gallons of gas that means you just paid an extra $16.00 to fill your tank. California has the highest gas tax in the country. Guess who pays for this? The working people who can’t afford a Tesla and who need to drive to work. There are plenty of greedy people in all aspects of life but politicians are the ones who create most of the misery. Try building an apartment building… Read more »
I’m actually in favor of higher wages but I’m not in favor of the city forcing businesses to pay higher wages or benefits if they cannot afford to do so. Some business are profitable and some are not. Some are large companies and many are family run small businesses. To simply pass a one size fits all increase in wages and benefits is just stupid and shows how little our public officials know about business. Believe me, if you are a good employee and you work for a successful company they are going to pay you more than $19.08 or… Read more »
You’re in favor of higher wages, but not by force. I think that is another way of saying you’re in favor of free enterprise/capitalism, which is not the system we have in Weho. I think you’re on the right track with required business classes, but I think time would be better spent if each Councilmember were required to work an 8 hour shift at both a local restaurant, and another 8 hour shift at a restaurant in Barstow, where workers might pay 1/4 to 1/5 apartment rent in West Hollywood, so they can see those workers have a better quality… Read more »
Yes, I am in favor of free enterprise and capitalism. If companies don’t pay their employees competitive wages they will lose their good employees to other businesses who will pay them more.
So many of these businesses had a bad business model, had huge rent increases or were just poorly run. That being said, the chamber would be much smarter to identify two candidates now for the city council that share their views and support them. The current elected council member’s are just making policies that their supporters have.
I’m sure these are well intended people, but I suspect all of them voted for some or all of the current and past city council members responsible for this. They voted for the 3 radical Marxists currently on the council who don’t respect private property and wages the free market sets, and the 2 others currently on the council who aren’t that much better. Seriously, someone must have voted for Shyne, Byers and Erickson, right? Then, all these long time businesses close, and they have to act fake shocked, and fake surprised that the people they voted for, decade after… Read more »
Very powerful. But in Chelsea Byers soviet utopia, no one is allowed to question her throne.
Suppose it depends on your definition of well attended.