The Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE) began as the Tourism Industry Development Council in 1993 with funding from HERE Local 11. LAANE carries out strategic research, and supports progressive policies in southern California.
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.
In 2004, voters in the city of Inglewood rejected a ballot initiative that would have allowed retail giant WalMart to bypass the opposition of the city council to their big-box store. This documentary, narrated by a local minister, describes the unprecedented labor-community coalition that defeated the world’s largest corporation.
The Los Angeles Living Wage Coalition explains the fight to extend the city’s living wage ordinance to workers at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). This 1998 production features interviews with Madeline Janis-Aparicio (LAANE) and Jackie Goldberg (L.A. City Counsel) as well as scenes of Mike Garcia leading a protest by SEIU Local 1877 at LAX. Rank-and-file workers explain the struggle of living in L.A. while earning low wages.
Cedillo, Gilbert. “All Should Feel Pain of Reform; Welfare: Business Must Pay Living Wages and Provide Health Benefits for All Workers.: [Home Edition].” Los Angeles Times (Pre-1997 Fulltext); Los Angeles, Calif., August 19, 1996, sec. Metro; PART-B; Op Ed Desk. http://search.proquest.com/latimes/docview/293362291/abstract/E3F4F4E3BCAF413CPQ/1.
Cardenas, Jose. “She’s Working Overtime for L.A.’s Living Wage Battle; Success Made Madeline Janis-Aparicio Labor’s Alter Ego. But Can She Do It Again in Santa Monica?: [Home Edition].” Los Angeles Times; Los Angeles, Calif., August 21, 2000, sec. Southern California Living; PART- E; PART-; View Desk. http://search.proquest.com/latimes/docview/421550115/abstract/1B2E1DCAC8744E85PQ/2.
This video produced by the LA Alliance for a New Economy documents elements of the Living Wage campaign in Los Angeles. An actor dressed as the ghost of Jacob Marley from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” haunts Los Angeles city hall warning the mayor and council members to consider the needs of low wage workers in December 1996. The council passed the ordinance covering workers for city contractors, and later voted to override the veto of Mayor Richard Riordan in April 1997.
WRITER, JEAN MERL TIMES STAFF. “L.A. Council OKs ‘Living Wage’ Law for City Contracts: Labor: With Enough Votes to Override Promised Riordan Veto, Panel Approves Minimum Pay for Lowest-Level Workers.” Los Angeles Times (1996-Current); Los Angeles, Calif, March 19, 1997, sec. Orange County. https://search.proquest.com/hnplatimes/docview/2109359639/abstract/17BA1ABB1F7142F2PQ/101.
The Tourism Industry Development Board (later known as the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, or LAANE) takes visiting journalists on a tour of four Los Angeles working class neighborhoods. LAANE’s partnership with HERE Local 11 aimed to change the public perception of Los Angeles and highlight the lives of tourism industry workers.
McDONNELL, PATRICK J. “Cultural Mystery Tour Visitors: Bus Trip to L.A.’s Eastside Kicks off a Series That Will Showcase the City’s Often-Overlooked Multiethnic Attractions and Counter Negative Media Images. Koreatown, South-Central Are among Future Destinations.: [Home Edition].” Los Angeles Times (Pre-1997 Fulltext); Los Angeles, Calif., July 7, 1994, sec. Metro; PART-B; Metro Desk. http://search.proquest.com/latimes/docview/282359935/abstract/D7B4B159EE014446PQ/1.
