INSANE: LA City Council Approves a $30 Minimum Wage For Certain Workers

Los Angeles is moving ahead with a plan to raise the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers to $30 an hour by 2028, a change hailed by unions and challenged by business leaders already struggling in a battered economy.

Key Facts:

The Los Angeles City Council is set to approve a minimum wage increase to $30/hour for hotel and airport workers by 2028.
The bill affects hotels with 60+ rooms and restaurant operators at LAX.
Current minimum wages: $20.32/hour in LA hotels, $25.23/hour at LAX, and $17.28/hour citywide for most other hourly workers.
Opponents argue the bill will hurt tourism and kill jobs amid an already struggling hospitality industry.
Supporters, including multiple unions, call it an “Olympic wage” and a win for working families.

The Rest of The Story:

The proposed wage hike follows a 12-3 City Council vote in favor of the bill.

A procedural vote is scheduled for final approval and is expected to pass.

The measure, backed by labor unions like Unite Here 11 and SEIU-USWW, aims to gradually raise the wage by 2028.

If approved and signed by the mayor, the law will go into effect this July.

Advocates say it will provide economic dignity to workers in an industry central to LA’s identity, especially with millions expected to visit for the Olympics.

Detractors, however, fear that soaring labor costs could crush already weakened businesses.

Critics argue the move comes at a precarious time.

The hospitality sector has yet to recover from pandemic-era losses and faces challenges from declining tourism, wildfire-related damage, and reduced film industry activity.

Some fear the new wage will worsen job losses and strain businesses beyond recovery.

Commentary:

This feels all too familiar.

California lawmakers, under pressure from organized labor, continue to pass sweeping mandates with little regard for economic consequences.

The fast food wage debacle should’ve been a warning. Over 1,000 restaurant closures and 16,000 job losses later, policymakers still don’t get it.

Now they’re targeting the hotel industry—a cornerstone of LA’s economy—just before the city’s biggest event in a generation.

Olympic visitors expect accessible accommodations, but with massive labor cost increases, hotels will be forced to either raise prices dramatically or shut down operations entirely.

Raising wages by 48% over a few years, while also factoring in rising healthcare and benefit contributions, is not a sustainable business model.

Many hotels already operate on tight margins.

This mandate isn’t a raise—it’s a death sentence for small and mid-sized operators.

The city’s economy has already been battered.

Pandemic losses, declining tourism thanks to overseas travel advisories, and industry strikes have taken a toll.

Yet here comes another round of burdens, cloaked in emotional appeals and union talking points.

Sure, workers believe this change will help them now.

But what happens when their company closes shop or slashes hours to offset costs?

Wages mean little without jobs.

A $30/hour dream doesn’t pay when you’re laid off.

The unions have framed this as a moral issue—an “Olympic wage” that reflects LA’s values.

But in practice, it’s a gamble with thousands of livelihoods.

Businesses aren’t bottomless pits of money.

They can’t absorb unlimited government mandates.

If the City Council pushes this through, they may find themselves welcoming the world to a city filled with “Now Hiring” signs—because the workers who once staffed these venues will be gone, victims of a well-intentioned but destructive policy.

The Bottom Line:

Los Angeles is on the brink of approving a major wage hike for hotel and airport workers, a move backed by powerful unions but sharply criticized by business leaders.

With the 2028 Olympics fast approaching, this policy could either uplift workers—or devastate the hospitality sector.

History suggests the latter.

The city risks repeating mistakes from the fast food industry, where job losses outpaced the benefits.