Key LA City Council Vote on Olympic Wage for Los Angeles Tourism Workers
Vote would increase wages to $30/hour by 2028 and include improved access to healthcare
Los Angeles – Hundreds of cooks, room attendants, dishwashers, airport workers, and allies will pack the chambers for a vote on the Olympic Wage in the Economic, Community Development, and Jobs Committee. As a major legacy project for the 2028 Games, the Olympic Wage will be the first in mega-event history, increasing wages and healthcare benefits for over 32,000 tourism workers who are predominantly workers of color and immigrants.
The vote comes after months of delay by city officials and an occupy action outside City Hall. Last month, the city’s Chief Legislative Analyst released a report providing extensive economic analysis of the proposed ordinance, concluding that the policy will “significantly improve equity of both compensation and benefits for workers in the targeted sectors” and be “strongly beneficial to all three local economies: LA City, LA County, and its neighboring jurisdictions.”
In a letter released earlier this month, leaders of UNITE HERE Local 11, a union representing some 32,000 hospitality and food service workers across Southern California and Arizona, called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC), LA28, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), and LA’s World Cup Host Committee to publicly endorse the LA Olympic Wage Ordinance as it comes up for a vote in LA City Council.
While the tourism industry is poised to continue to grow as it gears up to host the 2026 World Cup, 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and other mega-events, wages remain insufficient for tourism workers to continue to live in Los Angeles and surrounding cities as the region grapples with an unprecedented housing crisis. Although over 10,000 hotel workers have won historic wage increases in the largest hotel strike in U.S history led by UNITE HERE Local 11, thousands more in airports and hotels would benefit from the City of Los Angeles passing an Olympic Wage. Hotel, airport, and stadium contracts are set to expire in 2028, months before the Olympics and Paralympics.
