Business owners continue fight against minimum wage hike in Los Angeles

A referendum aimed at overturning the so-called Olympic Wage Ordinance in Los Angeles has enough signatures to move forward, Interim City Clerk Petty Santos announced Wednesday.

A total of 140,774 unverified signatures will now be reviewed by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk for validity. County staff will compare the signatures with registered voter records.

The ordinance will remain suspended and will not take effect during the verification process.

County officials are expected to conduct a random sample of the signatures. If the sample shows fewer than 90% of the required valid signatures, the petition will be declared insufficient.

If more than 110% of the required signatures are valid, the petition will be certified.

If the results are inconclusive, the county will review all signatures on the petition for its determination.

According to the City Clerk's office, if the petition is certified, it will be presented to the City Council, which will have three options under the City Charter: repeal the ordinance, place it on a future ballot for voters, or refer it to a department for further analysis.

The ordinance, passed in May, would raise the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers to $30 an hour by 2028, as the city prepares for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The measure also includes an $8.35-per-hour health care payment starting in July 2026.

However, business owners have challenged the law via referendum.

A coalition of local hospitality and tourism groups, known as the L.A. Alliance for Tourism, Jobs and Progress, filed the petition, arguing that Los Angeles already has some of the highest tourism wages in the country and that the steep increase would likely force business owners to lay off workers or find other ways to reduce costs.

"The Olympic Wage ordinance threatens the very existence of small businesses like ours," Gregory Plummer, CEO and managing partner of the Concord Collective, which operates food locations at LAX, said in a statement. "This isn't just a challenge for employers -- it's a risk to the jobs of the very workers this ordinance is meant to help."

Industry leaders said federal policies, fire recovery and economic setbacks have already strained tourism in Los Angeles. They say the wage hike would worsen the situation.

Last month, dozens of LAX workers, social justice groups, city leaders and labor unions gathered at L.A. City Hall to denounce the coalition's actions and ask city residents not to sign any of their petitions, claiming that workers deserve a fair, livable and equitable wage. 

Eunisses Hernandez (CD-13) was present at last month's rally in City Hall, denouncing the coalition's petition. 

Hernandez talked about the $30 per hour wage by 2028 for workers, which she called the “bare minimum for surviving in this expensive city.”

“It is not radical; it is not luxury; it is not a stretch,” she said. “They claim that a living wage is going to hurt the city. No, what is hurting the city is unchecked corporate greed.”

American Hotel & Lodging Association President and CEO Rosanna Maietta, President and CEO Nella McOsker of the Central City Association, President & CEO Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Maria S. Salinas, and Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association, backed the referendum effort.

Meanwhile, the Defend the Wage LA Coalition -- made up of Unite Here Local 11, SEIU-United Service Workers West, and the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy -- called on the City Clerk to "invalidate" the petition signatures. They claim signature gatherers misled voters by suggesting the measure would raise wages, when it would actually block them.

Unite Here Local 11 has filed complaints with both California Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower and Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, citing alleged misconduct. In their complaints, union representatives cited testimony they received from voters.

In one instance, a witness alleged that he was "violently assaulted and punched in the face by a referendum petition circulator," Unite Here Local 11 said.

The union also alleged that the referendum campaign offered unhoused people cash in exchange for registering to vote and signing their petition.

The L.A. City Council also called for an investigation into alleged fraud and other misconduct by signature gatherers on both sides of the issue.

Hotel and airport workers have defended the wage increase, noting that it will help them pay for rent and groceries, cover medical bills and remain in the city where they work.

Prompted by the referendum, union representatives filed four initiatives with the City Clerk, one of which aims to extend the $30-per-hour minimum wage to more workers across several industries.

Additional reporting by City News Service. Brenda Verano contributed to this report.