L.A. City Council made an important move to increase the minimum wage for non-union hotel workers in the city on Tuesday, asking council staff to draft an ordinance that would raise the minimum hourly wage to at least $15.37.

Right now, non-union hotel workers are paid $8 an hour, the state minimum wage. An ordinance signed by the mayor would almost double their pay.

The increase is supported by various civic and labor leaders around the city, each arguing that a wage increase would help pull workers out of poverty.

"Workers are working and living in poverty but the hotel industry has had record profits for three straight years," said James Elmendorf, deputy director of the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, a group focused on labor and environmental issues that advocated for the increase told the L.A. Times.

"It's a tremendously successful industry, yet hotel workers are the lowest paid workers in our city."

It’s also worth noting that last month, Mayor Garcetti came out in full support of the wage raise, and would most likely sign any motion the counsel passes to enact it.

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