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.
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
LOCAL 11 AT LA PRIDE!
Pride is a celebration and a demonstration of our willingness to protect each other. We stand up for the rights, wages & humanity of the entire human family, and we will never go back.
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.
ONTARIO, CALIF.: REFERENDUM AGAINST ORDINANCE O3303
REFERENDUM AGAINST ORDINANCE O3303, AN ORDINANCE PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING FILE NO. PSP23-001, A SPECIFIC PLAN (EMPIRE GROVES) TO ESTABLISH THE LAND USE DISTRICT, DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS, GUIDELINES, AND INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF UP TO 600,000 SQUARE FEET OF HOSPITALITY AND COMMERCIAL LAND USES ON 10.43-ACRES OF LAND LOCATED ON THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF GUASTI ROAD AND HOLT BOULEVARD AND MAKING FINDINGS IN SUPPORT THEREOF—APN: 110-322-33
Click here for a summary of the referendum and the ordinance being referendized
Click here to read the full text of the ordinance being referendized
ONTARIO, CALIF.: REFERENDUM AGAINST ORDINANCE O3302
REFERENDUM AGAINST ORDINANCE O3302 AN ORDINANCE PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING FILE NO. PDA23-005, A DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF ONTARIO AND DIVERSIFIED PACIFIC DEVELOPMENT GROUP, LLC, TO ESTABLISH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH A DEVELOPMENT PLAN (FILE NO. PDEV23-039), FOR A 10.43 ACRE PROPERTY LOCATED ON THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF GUASTI ROAD AND HOLT BOULEVARD WITHIN THE PROPOSED PA1 (HOSPITALITY MIXED-USE) DISTRICT OF THE EMPIRE GROVES SPECIFIC PLAN, AND MAKING FINDINGS IN SUPPORT THEREOF—APN: 110-322-33
Click here for a summary of the referendum and the ordinance being referendized
Click here to read the full text of the ordinance being referendized
ONTARIO, CALIF.: AN INITIATIVE MEASURE PROPOSING TO ENACT HOTEL, EVENT CENTER AND AIRPORT HOSPITALITY WORKER PROTECTION AND MINIMUM WAGE REGULATIONS
Click here to read the full text of the initiative
Click here for information on top funders for this initiative