Los Angeles City Council approves hotel and airport worker wage package as amended; second reading set for May 23

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved an amended package of measures updating wage and health-benefit rules for hotel and airport workers, concluding a day of extended public comment and multiple floor amendments. The measure passed 12-3 and will return for a mandatory second reading on May 23, 2025.

Councilmembers and labor and business representatives framed the debate around two competing concerns: raising wages and health coverage for tourism-sector workers before major international events, and sustaining a fragile tourism economy that several industry witnesses said is already showing declines.

The Council heard more than an hour of public comment focused on the item. Jessica Durham, director of the Tourism Workers Rising coalition, urged passage: “It's because it's good for our city and it's good for our economy,” Durham said, noting studies she said show higher worker pay circulates in the local economy. Dozens of hotel and airport workers who said they earn low hourly pay and have difficulty affording housing and medical bills also addressed the chamber.

Industry witnesses and the city's tourism contractor described a different picture. Adam Burke, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board, said the sector faces multiple headwinds including wildfire-related misperceptions and drops in international travel: “Research conducted by VISIT California found that the average American traveler believes that 41% of Los Angeles was damaged by the fires. The real number is less than 2%,” Burke said, adding that lower visitation and longer visa wait times are already reducing hotel occupancy and related spending.

Burke cited an Oxford Economics analysis presented to the Council that city staff and industry representatives summarized on the…