City Council approves bond exemption for Wing Hing Noodle, rescinding living-wage condition

The Los Angeles City Council on Oct. 26 voted 12-0 to remove a living-wage condition attached to industrial development bonds for Wing Hing Noodle Company, a family-owned food manufacturer in Council District 9. Councilwoman Jan Perry moved the measure, and the council approved it and forwarded the matter to the mayor.

The vote clears a path for Wing Hing to complete a bond-backed financing package that the company and bond counsel said must close by Nov. 20 to avoid losing a performance deposit and to satisfy a 90-day closing requirement tied to approval by the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee.

Councilwoman Jan Perry said the company currently employs 41 people and plans to expand over two years to about 120 employees, and she framed the measure as an effort to preserve local jobs. "This is a family owned business in the Ninth Council District ... that has employed local residents and will continue to employ local residents," Perry said during the debate.

The action split speakers at the hearing. Business groups and neighborhood advocates urged the council to remove the living-wage attachment, saying the requirement threatened the company's bank financing and could cost existing jobs. Victor Franco Jr., deputy director of legislative affairs for the Central City Association, asked the council to adopt Perry's motion, saying the bank determined the living-wage requirement "would jeopardize Wing Hing's overall cash flow capacity, thus potentially making the company unable to adequately service the bond debt." The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce also supported rescinding the condition.

Labor and community advocates urged the opposite. John Grant, in-house counsel for United Food and Commercial Workers, said removing the living-wage condition would create a precedent that could "enable the subsidy of non living wage or working poor" jobs and urged members to vote no. Lisa Hernandez of LA Alliance for a New Economy said the organization verified worker conditions at the site: three employees she interviewed included one who had worked five years and earned "a little over $7 an hour," others paid minimum wage, and workers report 10-hour shifts and no health benefits.

Kenneth (Kenny) Yee, representing Wing Hing, told the council the family business had been in the Ninth District for 24 years and argued the financing could not proceed with the living-wage condition. Community speakers, including homeless advocates and neighborhood leaders, urged the council to prioritize job preservation in a district they described as having deeply elevated unemployment.

The city attorney's office told the council it had not issued an opinion that the living-wage requirement "should not apply." Instead, the city attorney recounted that Wing Hing had voluntarily agreed to the living-wage condition when the item passed the council earlier; council members were informed the company later said compliance would imperil financing. The attorney explained the sequence to clarify what the council had approved and the basis for the current motion.

Council members who spoke described the item as both an immediate economic decision and part of a broader policy choice about when living-wage rules should apply to bond-funded projects. Perry said she plans to propose a task force to examine whether living-wage rules should be made clearer for future bond or development applications so businesses can plan ahead. Multiple council members urged a separate policy review so the council can resolve the broader questions systematically rather than on a case-by-case basis.

The council's action rescinding the condition was recorded as 12 ayes on the item; the clerk noted the measure was approved and "forwarded to the mayor."