BREAKING NEWS: Politically Powerful UNITE HERE Local 11 Passes Highest Wage in the Nation for Los Angeles Tourism Workers, $30 by 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games

Los Angeles: UNITE HERE Local 11 which represents over 32,000 cooks, room attendants, dishwashers, airport workers across Southern California and Arizona led the way for the Los Angeles City Council to raise the wage for tourism workers ahead of the 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games.

“This wage increase is going to change the life of my daughter and I. As a single mother, I will no longer be forced to choose between paying the bills or buying her healthy food and saving for college. This Olympic and Paralympic wage will be good for working families like mine, the city and our overall economy,” said Sonia Ceron, dishwasher at Flying Food Group and airline catering company that prepares and packages meals for international flights for airlines like Japan Air, Singapore, Qantas and more.

The new law, dubbed the Olympic and Paralympic Wage, is the highest minimum wage in the United States. It will raise the wage of workers in airports and hotels in the city of Los Angeles to $30 by the 2028 Olympic and Paralympics. Mayor Bass is expected to sign the law in the coming weeks, and go into effect July 1st.

“Tourism workers have once again made history by winning the highest minimum wage in the nation! 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 Kurt Petersen co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11.

This is not the first time UNITE HERE Local 11 has led the way in passing historically strong living wage  laws for tourism workers. In 2016 they increased wages for hotel workers in Santa Monica, 2021 in West Hollywood, in 2022 in the City of Glendale and in 2024 voters in Long Beach passed a similar wage increase.

While 10,000 hotel workers won historic wage increases in the largest hotel strike in U.S. history led by UNITE HERE Local 11 in 2023 and 2024, thousands more in airports and hotels will benefit from the City of Los Angeles passing an Olympic Wage by modernizing the Living Wage Ordinance to raise hourly wages to $30/hour by 2028 and improve access to quality healthcare.  UNITE HERE Local 11’s hotel, airport and stadium contracts are set to expire in 2028, months before the Olympics and Paralympics.

Workers were joined throughout their over two year fight by LAANE, CLUE and many other community organizations as they repeatedly made their way to Council to demand a wage that would support working families across the Los Angeles region.