The City of West Hollywood minimum wage will be raised on January 1, 2025, to $19.65. Laura Biery, economic development director for the City of West Hollywood announced the update at the quarterly city manager’s meeting.
In April, City Council voted to postpone any increases to the minimum wage policy until January. A statewide minimum wage increase is on the ballot to raise the State of California’s minimum wage to $18 per hour. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour and has not increased since 2009.
West Hollywood’s minimum wage is the highest in California. The highest minimum wage in the nation is Tukwila, Washington, at $20.29 per hour for larger employers and $18.29 for mid-size or small businesses. Tukwila is a hub for the aerospace industry. The second-highest minimum wage in the nation is Seattle, Washington, at $19.97 per hour.
Minimum wage laws have not had annual cost of living increases prior to 2022. In the past the minimum wage was adjusted every few years. The West Hollywood hotel worker ordinance that was approved by the City Council and rolled out citywide also tied the minimum wage to CPI with annual increases.
Dinner for two in WeHo is at least $100. When I do go out now I’m sitting in empty restaurants. They’re also adding service charges, not for the server but to pay the rest of the staff. Ridiculous!
Prices go up so wages have to go up. Wages go up so prices go up. It’s the same endless battle that’s been going on for years. But why does the low wage worker always take the brunt of the blame. I see it all over these comments. Why doesn’t anybody ever blame rising housing costs which is at the root of it all. Greedy landlords are making a killing while low wage workers struggle to survive. Same old story.
I kid you not I saw a cookie at pavilions today that was $5.99 !!!! (WTF) I guess just because it has frosting and was made with a cookie cut out. Prices are getting ridiculous in the city.
5.99 isn’t that much. If you can’t afford it make your own. Nobody owes you cheap cookies.
For 1 Cookie?!? $5.99 is a tad excessive. Has nothing to do with affording it or not.
ONLY way to stop this is take your business elsewhere starting in 2025.
I no longer shop at Starbucks, or eat out. Fix my own coffee, and have dinner parties instead.
Thanks, Far Left Commies for changing my life for the better. Lovely way to kill local businesses.
Another trumper who doesn’t have a clue what communism is
In a tiny city that used to love independence, they now need chain stores and hotel workers lobbies to survive. #vote to bring the fight back to why Weho was founded.
But we’re the first in the nation!
THIS is what we’re proud of!
Mom & pop or major chain, the results will be the same. They will either raise prices and cut back on staffing or close/move out of the area. Sure, it would be great if everyone could have a “living wage”, but that’s simply not the reality of doing business these days. Small businesses operate on razor thin profit margins and big businesses have to answer to budgets/metrics driven by corporate/share holder expectations.
Everywhere is like that now. Anyone who has enjoyed the only Mexican “fast food” around at Los Tacos on S,M. Blvd. MUST have noticed. the price of their “entree” platters has gone up from $8.89 to $18.89 within a very short time. It’s no more than a glorified TV dinner, all precooked & all placed on one plate & microwaved. These aren’t price increases out of necessity, it’s out of greed & price gouging. They have no wait staff, you order & pick up at the counter where you pay, & their rent has to be minimal since they’ve been… Read more »
Amidst the flowing river, the frog said to the scorpion, if you sting me, then surely both of us will die.
LoL, said the scorpion, LMAO
If this was so great for West Hollywood John, Chelsea, and Shyne, why hasn’t Lindsey Horvath introduce this increase for all of LA County?! Let’s see how many more small businesses close either by lack of patrons able to not afford the price increases passed onto customers and/or the lack of being able to make a profit.
Yep, more empty store fronts on the way. Not to mention the cost of goods and services will rise again. So while the low wage worker has gotten more per hour, their costs have now all gone up so they are no further ahead than they were before the increase. Meanwhile, the middle class has gotten no raise and so they’re worse off. This is what happens when you have a bunch of politically ambitious people who have no business background fooling with the economy. NO on Erickson, NO on Hang. We need to take our city back! (the way… Read more »
Why does the city council have so much contempt for small business? I’m buying an ironing board because dry cleaning is too much. I am hand washing my car because Santa Palm is $30 a wash! I could go on and on…but they do not car about this community. I am really curious to see how many business have closed and jobs have been lost specifically related to this law. Oh, and don’t forget all the businesses that were forced to either close or relocate due to all the stalled development projects. Erickson is a clown dummy for special interest… Read more »
We never learn in Weho do we.? This minimum wage is not sustainable for a local mom & pop business. My dry cleaning is now done in Hollywood, sorry $19 to dry clean a shirt is simply outrageous, my dog is bathed and groomed in Los Angeles as $105 per trip is atrocious across the street from my house. The Subway in Woodland Hills serves the same 6” sandwich for $5 less daily. That a box of Kellogg corn flakes is $7.99 at Pavilions and $4.99 at Ralph’s on 3rd Street is criminal.
We never learn in this city…
Yup! 🙁 so frustrating santa palm careash is ,$30 atleast now. Makes me want to start a bikini car wash service.
I don’t buy personal care items at Pavilions anymore because on Amazon they’re up to five dollars cheaper per bottle/item. It’s really insane.
LOL yup pavilions has two bars of body soap for like $9 now. sad they use to be around $4