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Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Los Angeles Pushes $15 Minimum Wage For Hotel Industry

Fehbe Meza |
May 5, 2014 | 9:13 p.m. PDT

 

This story is part of Neon Tommy's series, Wage in L.A., which explores how Angelenos survive on the state's minimum wage of $8 an hour, and how they feel about their jobs.

 

(Embassy Suites hotel workers on strike/LA County Federation of Labor)
(Embassy Suites hotel workers on strike/LA County Federation of Labor)
Three Los Angeles City Council members have launched a bid to increase the wages of the city’s hotel workers to $15.37 an hour, a huge jump to the more than 40 percent of the industry's workers who live below the poverty liine.

The raise would affect 87 hotels with more than 100 hotel rooms and an estimated 10,000 employees across the city. Union workers said the increase could lift housekeepers, busboys and maintenance workers out of poverty.

The U.S. Census reported 21 percent of Los Angeles residents live below the poverty line as of 2012. And in L.A.'s hospitality industry, 43 percent of workers are making incomes below the federal poverty line, which is about $7.25 an hour. So

District Nine Councilmember Curren D. Price Jr. represents the district with the highest poverty rate in the city. Mike Bonin and Nury Martinez are also leading the fight, and represent West Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.

“Income inequality is a persistent issue plaguing our country, our city and especially our under-served South Los Angeles community,” Price said.

The Senate shut down the most recent proposal to raise the federal minimum wage despite states taking individual action to raise wages. Democrats had proposed to raise the federal hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 over the next few years, allowing the increase to correlate directly with inflation rates. However, the measure was defeated 54 votes to 42, just 18 votes shy of the number of votes needed.

The raise was intended to help alleviate the financial hardships faced by millions of low-income Americans and attempt to raise their standard of living while ultimately bringing them out of poverty. Senate majority leader Harry Reid said the measure was not simply about politics.

“It’s about whether or not it is right that people who are working 40 hours a week get a fair shot at being able to provide for their families,” Reid told the New York Times.

California’s minimum wage is set to increase statewide from $8.00 to $9.00, effective July 1, 2014.  It will then increase to $10.00 on January 1, 2016. Connecticut’s wage will increase to $10.10 by 2017 while New York will raise their wages to $9.00 by the end of 2015.

Hasira S. Ashemu, the senior communications specialist for The Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (also known as LAANE), said an wage increase would benefit the city's infrastructure as much as it would benefit the workers.  With more expendable income, the workers would be able to boost the local economy.

“When Los Angeles workers are thriving and making a living wage, Los Angeles does better,” Ashemu said.

Ashemu also pointed out the increase is already present in certain areas of the city. Hotel workers in the immediate vicinity of Los Angeles International Airport are a paid a minimum of $15.37. The wage was established in 2007 after a “living wage” ordinance was adopted by the city raising the rates of hotel workers and LAX employees.

Raise LA, a campaign created under LAANE to foster action and support for the rate increase for hotel workers, reported Los Angeles hotels have seen an increase in revenue over the past three years, but their wages, in relation to the percentage of their revenue ,have dropped 15 percent.

“The reason we are focusing on hotel workers is because the hotel industry is the largest employer of poverty wage jobs in the city. Forty percent of hotel workers live in poverty,” Ashemu said.

Opponents argued a hike that expands far beyond the LAX area would translate negatively to consumers, who would most likely bear the consequences of the workers’ raise.  According to the Los Angeles Times, hotel owners and representatives warned the measure would cause higher room rates and layoffs as they attempt to stabilize their budgets.

Ashemu argued against these concerns, citing Los Angeles’ dependence on the large revenue from the tourism industry.

“These hotels are doing perfectly fine. They are thriving,” Ashemu said. “At the end of the day, what a hotel provides is service. Their product is service, so to lay off their workers will negatively impact their product, which is their ability to serve.”

A New York Times and CBS News' poll
revealed 62 percent of Americans are in favor of an increase in minimum wage. The current rate has not been raised since 2009. If L.A. City Council approves the proposal, it will be the highest minimum wage in the country. Additionally, the rate would increase in relation to inflation.

Ashemu noted political gridlock as a strong factor in slowing down the proposal from advancing. He admits the social inequality gap is a problem both nationally and locally.

The proposal will be presented to the city attorney in approximately three weeks for review and modification before the council can vote on it.

“Fortunately, we have a very progressive mayor and city council who understand when workers are doing well, then Los Angeles is doing well,” Ashemu said.



 

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