Posted on 10/21/2024
ONE BIG THING: ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS A LIVING WAGE FOR TOURISM WORKERS
What Happened?
If you’ve been reading our newsletters, you’ll know that nearly a year ago, we joined many of our colleagues in introducing a $25/hour minimum wage for tourism workers, which would increase gradually to $30/hour by 2028.
This week, the Economic, Community Development, and Jobs Committee heard public comment for over two hours from workers with the Tourism Workers Rising Coalition about an independent report that was released in September, showing the immense transformative potential of this policy.
Why it Matters
The independent report was conducted by Berkeley Economic Advising and Research, and it came to three key conclusions:
- The workers who would be most affected by this change are some of the lowest-wage workers in the city, meaning they are most likely to struggle paying for rent and groceries.
- The proposed increase would uplift the entire local economy, because workers will spend their increased income in our communities.
- Any burden of cost increases will fall predominantly on visitors, rather than LA residents.
The change would apply only to hotels with 60 or more rooms, and the report made it clear that the wage increases would generally improve our City’s economy - given that around two thirds of the workers that would be affected live in Los Angeles, and would spend those extra dollars here in our City.
What’s Next?
The committee meeting this week allowed us to hear from the public about this important issue, and one thing was abundantly clear - workers are ready for a living wage, guaranteed health benefits, and paid time off.
The committee will again take up this issue on Wednesday, October 23, when they will vote on whether or not to advance it to the full City Council. If it goes through, the full council will review and vote on the proposal in the coming months, so stay tuned for more updates on that!
Two More Quick Hits!
1. Establishing a Central American Cultural District
This week, we joined Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez and leaders from several of the City’s most prominent Central American organizations, in introducing a motion that would establish a Central American Cultural District in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is the city with the greatest population of people from Central America in the country, and the Central American community has been an integral part of our City’s culture for decades. This new Cultural District would be an important investment in this often overlooked community, and a recognition of the importance and contributions of this community in our City.
2. Music Box Steps Day
TODAY, October 19, 2024, at 11am, the Silver Lake Improvement Association will be celebrating its 30th Annual Music Box Steps Day. This will be a family event, at the historic site of Laurel and Hardy’s iconic short film, “The Music Box”, which won an Oscar in 1932.
Stop by for a fun afternoon, as we reflect on some of the iconic Hollywood history that we have right here in District 13!