Supporters of the Raise L.A. coalition celebrate a vote of the Los Angeles city council in September 2014. Under the new law, large nonunion hotels in Los Angeles would raise their minimum wage to $15.37 by 2015. The campaign was part of a multi-year strategy led by LAANE and UNITE HERE Local 11 to establish a living wage across the hotel industry. Hotel industry representatives complained that high wages would lead to unemployment for workers. Worker advocates pointed to the large profits of corporate hotels and tax subsidies provide by the city as justification for the higher wage mandate. A representative of LAANE told the L.A. Times, “When employers are saying jobs are going to be lost, they’re really saying, ‘We want to continue to have high profits, so we’re going to fire people.'”
Zahniser, David, and Emily Alpert Reyes. “City Council Backs Wage Hike for Hotel Employees; Lawmakers Approve Raising Minimum Pay to $15.37 an Hour, despite Fears It Will Lead to Job Losses.” Los Angeles Times, September 25, 2014, sec. LATExtra; Part AA; Metro Desk. https://www.proquest.com/latimes/docview/1564540698/abstract/D4140E13177542D6PQ/48.
