The Los Angeles City Council has given final approval to an ordinance that will gradually raise the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers to $30 per hour by 2028. The vote passed Friday with an 8-3 margin, despite concerns from the hotel industry about potential economic impacts.
The measure amends two existing ordinances — one covering hotel workers and another for employees at private companies operating at LAX. The new wage scale starts at $22.50 per hour this July, then increases by $2.50 annually, hitting $30 by July 2028. Workers will also receive an additional $8.35 per hour for healthcare benefits starting in 2026.
The push for higher wages was led by Councilmember Curren Price and originally backed by five other councilmembers. Price called the increase a recognition of the vital role hospitality and airport workers play in the city’s economy.
The policy applies to hotels with more than 60 rooms and private companies operating at Los Angeles International Airport, including airlines and retail concessions.
The final vote reflected some dissent. Councilmembers Monica Rodriguez, Traci Park, and John Lee voted against the measure. Several others were absent, including Katy Yaroslavsky, Nithya Raman, Adrin Nazarian, and Imelda Padilla.
Councilmembers proposed a number of amendments earlier this month. Raman asked for a formal study on how the wage hike affects the tourism sector, both before and after implementation. Padilla sought to ensure hotel workers aren’t required to attend multiple sessions of the mandatory public housekeeping training program, which will include topics like workplace rights and identifying signs of human trafficking or domestic violence.
Rodriguez and Park proposed an exemption for contract workers like marble polishers, but the idea was sent back to committee after concerns it could affect hotel restaurant staff. John Lee pushed to raise the minimum hotel size from 60 to 150 rooms, but that proposal failed to gain traction.
Currently, hotel workers in L.A. earn $20.32 an hour, while airport workers make $19.28 plus a health care stipend. The new ordinance brings both groups under the same pay scale and benefits structure.
Supporters of the measure, including labor union Unite Here Local 11, say the wage hike is essential to ensuring workers benefit from major upcoming events like the 2028 Olympics. Critics, however, say the policy could lead to job losses or stalled investments. One hotel executive claimed the plan could kill a proposed $250 million expansion at a Universal City property if the ordinance moves forward unchanged.
Despite those warnings, union leaders hailed the final vote as a landmark win for workers.
“The Olympic and Paralympic Wage is the first step to ensure these mega events benefit hard-working families and not just bosses and billionaires,” said Unite Here Local 11 co-president Kurt Petersen.
When Elon Musk created DOGE, politicians complained that a businessperson should not be sticking his nose into government matters. Clearly, they don’t see the irony of their claim.
Have any of the LA City Council members taken Economics 101? Have any of them managed a payroll in the private sector?
Bye bye any planned new hotels. Almost $40 per hr…hotel prices will sky rocket.