L.A. moves to delay $30-an-hour minimum wage for hotel, airport workers tied to 2028 Olympics
LA City Council voted 9-6 to potentially postpone the $30/hr minimum wage for hotel and airport workers from 2028 to 2030, amid pressure from businesses threatening to repeal the city's gross receipts tax.
Rachel Brashier, left, an aide to Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, right, listens to public comment as dozens of cooks, room attendants, dishwashers, airport workers and others pack the chambers for a May 2026 vote on the Olympics wages — (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The move to delay implementation came after airline and hotel businesses gathered enough signatures to qualify a measure for the Nov. 3 ballot that would repeal the city’s gross receipts tax, which would cost the city about $860 million annually in lost revenue.
Hotel and airport workers opposed the move, saying they were counting on the raise. Council members said they would continue to negotiate a compromise.
The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday moved to potentially delay a contentious $30 hourly minimum wage for hotel and airport workers, saying the action may be needed to stave off a business-backed ballot initiative to eliminate the city’s gross receipts tax.
In a 9-6 vote, the council gave initial approval of an ordinance to postpone implementation of the $30 hourly minimum until 2030, instead of 2028. But L.A. City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who introduced the motion, called it “a placeholder” that allows negotiations among city officials, hotel and airport businesses and labor unions to continue in the coming days. Another vote would be needed to formally delay implementation.
Harris-Dawson said the council would revisit the discussion Tuesday.