Over a hundred room attendants, cooks, dishwashers, airline catering and airport workers, volunteers and allies announced massive field efforts “Defend The Wage LA” to inform the public of the misleading petition led by the tourism industry to overturn the Olympic Wage which was passed into law by the LA City Council.Workers are urging voters not to sign the misleading petition and encouraging the public to report any petition gatherers online or by calling the Defend The Wage hotline at 909-326-0042.
PRESS RELEASE: Pressure Mounts on California Attorney General Bonta and Los Angeles City Attorney Feldstein Soto as Over Thirty Elected Officials Sign Letter Demanding Hotels and Airlines Cease Deceitful Conduct in their Anti-Living Wage Referendum Campaign in LA
Los Angeles, CA: Over thirty elected officials, including State Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez, Senators Maria Elena Durazo and Lola Smallwood Cuevas, Assembly Majority Whip Mark Gonzalez, and Assemblymembers Isaac G. Bryan, Tina McKinnor, Mike Gipson and Avelino Valencia sent a letter today demanding that airline and hotel CEOs stop funding the deceitful campaign to overturn the Olympic Wage passed in the City of Los Angeles for tourism workers.
In the letter addressed to the CEOs of Delta Airlines, United Airlines, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, and AHLA members Hilton and Marriott, elected leaders demanded that the companies “stop funding this distortion of the democratic process in Los Angeles.” Elected officials say they will hold CEOs “accountable for any potential liability for this alleged misconduct and other criminal acts.” The letter was also sent to Attorney General Rob Bonta and Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto.
Over the two years since the Olympic Wage ordinance was introduced, the combined compensation of Delta, United, Hilton, and Marriott’s CEOs reached over $330 million. In just 2024, each of these CEOs’ raises ranged from 155% to over 602% of what they made in 2022. Meanwhile, over the same two years, the minimum wage of tourism workers rose an average of $1.35 an hour.
California State Senator Maria Elena Durazo said, “This attempt to undermine the will of the people and deny hardworking hotel and airport employees a living wage is shameful. These corporations would rather spend millions fighting against fair pay than ensure their workers can afford to live in the city they serve. We will stand with our union brothers and sisters and fight tirelessly to ensure these vital wage increases are implemented, allowing Angelenos to earn enough to support their families and contribute to our local economy.”
The letter follows a complaint filed last week alleging that paid signature gatherers for the petition funded by these companies have falsely claimed that the petition would increase workers’ wages, when the referendum actually seeks to overturn a recently passed minimum wage law. The complaint was filed with the offices of the California Attorney General, Los Angeles District Attorney and Los Angeles City Attorney by the hotel workers’ union, UNITE HERE Local 11. Earlier this week, a motion introduced by Los Angeles City Councilmember Hugo Soto Martinez calling on the Los Angeles Police Department and the City Attorney to investigate the claims passed the Economic Development and Jobs Committee.
The complaint alleges that instead of honestly communicating with the public about the initiative’s purpose of eliminating the new minimum wage, signature gatherers have flagrantly deceived voters to sign the petition by claiming the initiative is to “increase the minimum wage,” turn a “temporary wage increase into a permanent one” and making other false or misleading claims. The complaint alleges that in some cases, signature gatherers were themselves deceived by the initiative organizers into believing the petition was to raise the minimum wage.
The complaint also alleges that some signature gatherers have failed to disclose the initiatives’ top funders in the materials they used to recruit voters to sign. The failure to carry such disclosures violates state and local election law. Lastly, the complaint alleges that referendum signature-gatherers have repeatedly engaged in violent or threatening behavior. In one case, a witness alleges that he was violently assaulted and punched in the face by a referendum petition circulator.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU SEE ANYBODY GATHERING SIGNATURES FOR THE ANTI-WORKER PETITION
LA TIMES: Union launches dueling ballot measures, escalating fight over L.A.’s tourism worker wage hike
PRESS RELEASE: Hospitality Union Files Initiative Petitions to Raise LA Minimum Wage to $30/hour for All Workers and Require Voter Approval of Hotel and Event Center Subsidies
Los Angeles, California. Representatives of the hotel workers’ union, UNITE HERE Local 11, submitted paperwork late Monday with the Los Angeles City Clerk to file two voter initiatives.
The first initiative would boost the citywide minimum wage to $25.00 an hour initially and raise the minimum wage to $30 an hour on July 1, 2028, when the Olympics and Paralympic Games are scheduled to start in Los Angeles.
Last month, the City Council passed an ordinance with similar minimum wage increases for tourism workers, dubbed the Olympic Wage. Major corporations, including United Airlines, Delta Airlines, and hotel chains launched a costly campaign to overturn the law, arguing that all workers—not only tourism workers—should get wage increases. The new initiative proposes to extend the wage increases to workers in all industries across the city.
The second initiative would require voter approval for hotel and event center development projects in which the City grants subsidies, such as tax rebates or below-market prices for city-owned land, to developers. It would also require voter approval for major hotel developments involving 80 or more guest rooms or event center developments adding more than 50,000 square feet or 1,000 seats and require that the City Council make findings that the developments are compatible with and beneficial to the local community.
In addition, the union and its allies have launched massive field efforts to “Defend The Wage LA” and inform the public of misleading signature-gathering efforts in the campaign led by the tourism industry to overturn the Olympic Wage. A complaint filed last week alleges that paid signature-gatherers for a petition funded by Delta Airlines, United Airlines, Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt have falsely claimed that the petition would increase workers’ wages when the referendum actually seeks to overturn the recently passed tourism minimum wage law. The complaint was filed with the offices of the California Attorney General, Los Angeles District Attorney and Los Angeles City Attorney by the hotel workers’ union, UNITE HERE Local 11.
“Tourism corporations often get massive subsidies from taxpayers. But we question whether big companies that find tens of millions to pay their CEOs each year and are now spending millions more to overturn a minimum wage hike for their lowest-paid workers really need these subsidies. At the very least, voters should get a say on whether their tax dollars should be handed over to these corporations,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11.
Petersen added: “Since the initiative advances the position proclaimed by these big tourism companies like United, Delta, and hotel owners that all workers need an increase, we expect them to promptly get on board and endorse the new minimum wage initiative.”
LA TIMES: Push to block L.A.’s tourism wage hike has been misleading, union alleges
DEFEND THE WAGE PRESS CONFERENCE
Don’t let the airport and hotels CEOs’ deceptive ballot initiative take money out of the pockets of hard-working LA families! If someone approaches you to sign a ballot measure this month, DON’T SIGN. Instead, report their location at defendthewage.la or by calling (909) 326-0042. PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!
LA DAILY NEWS: LA tourism workers rally against referendum to overturn $30 minimum wage
PRESS RELEASE: Tourism Workers Launch “Defend The Wage LA” Campaign for $30 Olympic Wage and Other Protections Against Billionaire Bosses’ Misleading Petition
Los Angeles: Over a hundred room attendants, cooks, dishwashers, airline catering and airport workers, volunteers and allies announced massive field efforts “Defend The Wage LA” to inform the public of the misleading petition led by the tourism industry to overturn the Olympic Wage.
Workers are urging voters not to sign the misleading petition and encouraging the public to report any petition gatherers online or by calling the Defend The Wage hotline at 909-326-0042.
“I didn’t fight for over two years for this wage because I want to buy another yacht like the CEO’s backing the phony petition. I fought for the Olympic wage so that I could keep a roof over my head and provide for my family back in Honduras. I am planning to move to Louisiana with my husband because the $20.63 is not enough, living in Los Angeles is becoming more impossible every day.” said Maria Torres, dishwasher at Flying Food Group, an airline catering company that prepares meals for international flights out of LAX and member of UNITE HERE Local 11. “I will be out there every day educating voters about the bosses’ phony petition and urging them to not sign.”
“We stand at another biblical moment in our historic fight – David versus Goliath. Delta and United Airlines—along with the hotel industry—want to steal wages from workers by erasing this critical law. Let’s call it what it is: grand theft larceny by modern-day robber barons. Workers and volunteers will be at every grocery store, park, farmers market and neighborhood defending the Olympic Wage and asking voters to not sign. If you see the anti-Olympic Wage petition circulators, report them!” said Kurt Petersen, Co-President UNITE HERE Local 11.
Rather than paying workers what they deserve, the industry which has already spent over 1 million dollars to stop their workers from earning a livable wage, is expected to spend millions more on this referendum. The efforts have major funding from Delta Airlines, United Airlines and the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Over the two years since the ordinance was introduced, the combined compensation of Delta, United, Hilton, and Marriott’s CEOs reached over $330 million. In just 2024, each of these CEOs’ raises ranged from 155% to over 602% of what they made in 2022. Meanwhile, over two years the minimum wage of tourism workers rose an average of $1.35 an hour.
“The airlines and hotels would rather spend millions to overturn the living wage than give workers a dime now,” said David Huerta, President of SEIU United Service Workers West. “These are billion-dollar companies fighting to make sure that working families in L.A. don’t get a raise. Don’t be complicit. Don’t sign the CEO’s petition.”
“My co-workers and I spent two years trying to get this ordinance passed while still working long shifts at LAX. We missed time with our families and loved ones,” said Jovan Houston, a Customer Service Agent at LAX. “It’s heartbreaking to learn that the airlines, which we work so hard to make successful, would spend millions of dollars to make sure we get nothing.”
“We’ve beaten back these dirty tricks before,” said Jessica Durrum, Director of LAANE’s Tourism Workers Rising coalition. “For the past 30 years, we have seen big business and corporate lobbyists try to overturn hard-won living wage protections. And time and again, we’ve shown that when workers and the community stand together, we can and will uphold our living wage laws to ensure workers are healthy and housed.”
Airport and hotel workers fought hard to pass the Olympic Wage of $30 by the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Workers marched, picketed, occupied city hall, and met council members for two years to win this historic wage to lift up hospitality workers across the city. Last December workers fasted for days to pass the Olympic and Paralympic Wage.
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.
CAPITAL & MAIN: Los Angeles Hospitality Workers Win Olympian Pay Raise
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
“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.
“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.
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.
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