Living Wage' Ordinance Upheld on Appeal

Worker Profiles

For over 20 years, Isabel “Segunda” Brentner has worked at the LAX Hilton, keeping her focus on her family and her job. “My priorities [were] to help my family,” says Brentner, who, along with raising her own children, cared for both her father and grandmother when they were ill. More

Enedina Alvarez, a 54-year-old single parent, says she must be both mother and father to her teenage children. Yet, with two jobs, she has barely enough money to house, feed and clothe them—and precious little time to spend with them. Although she receives health insurance through her job, she cannot afford to insure her children. Alvarez says, “I pray to God that my kids do not get sick because I cannot pay the medical bills.” More

Who Are Hotel Housekeepers?*

Nearly all hotel housekeepers are women. The majority are women of color and immigrants.

There are 1.3 million hotel workers in the U.S. and 280,000 in Canada, of whom approximately one quarter are housekeepers.

Hotel Housekeeper Work Is Dangerous Work

Hotel workers have a 40% higher injury rate (5.9%) than workers in the service sector (4.2%).

According to a recent study of company records covering thousands of employee injuries, hotel housekeepers face an injury rate of 10.4%, almost double the injury rate for non-housekeepers (5.6%).

Hotel housekeeper injuries are debilitating. Back injuries, housemaids' knee (bursitis), and shoulder pain can lead to permanent disability.

*UNITE HERE

Why We Need A

"PLAN FOR A
NEW CENTURY"

A new white paper calls on the city of Los Angeles and industry leaders to invest in the Century Corridor and its workforce. A Plan for a New Century will benefit workers, communities, hotels and the entire city. More

'Living Wage' Ordinance Upheld on Appeal
City News Service - December 27, 2007

A city ordinance that would require a "living wage" for airport-area hotel employees was upheld today by the 2nd District Court of Appeal.

The court found that the Enhancement Zone Ordinance was sufficiently different from a repealed Living Wage Ordinance because it addressed objections expressed by hotels and businesses, according to the City Attorney's Office.

"I am pleased to report that the California Court of Appeal today, in a published opinion, ruled for the city and upheld the city's Enhancement Zone Ordinance," said City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo.

"This decision is a win for the workers who deserve a living wage, and for the hotels who will benefit from increased investment in the neighborhood and in worker training."

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also applauded the decision.

"I have always supported the alternative ordinance, which the court upheld today, because it balances the right of workers to receive a living wage with the concerns and needs of business," Villaraigosa said.

"I am proud of everyone -- the City Council, the City Attorney and the labor and business interests -- who worked together with my office to create this ordinance, and I look forward to it implementation."

But, a spokesman for the Century Corridor Hotels said Californians should be "shocked and saddened" by the decision.

"In what we believe was a decision not supported by fact or precedent, the court gutted the ability of Californians to challenge the acts of their government through a vote of the people," said Ruben Gonzalez.

"This decision, in a case regarding a mandated wage proposed by the city of Los Angeles that was successfully stopped and sent to the ballot by over 100,000 voters, will now allow local and state government to avoid a referendum election by making minor cosmetic changes to any law challenged by the voters."

Last year, the Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance requiring 13 hotels near Los Angeles International Airport to pay their employees $9.39 an hour with health insurance, or $10.64 an hour without benefits.

When hotel owners and business leaders began a petition drive to force the issue onto the ballot in hopes of overturning the measure, the council voted to rescind the ordinance to avoid a costly election.

In February, the council approved a compromise ordinance, restricting it to a dozen hotels near LAX and providing new hotels with economic incentives.

City officials said the second measure was different because it called for the creation of an economic overlay zone for the dozen hotels surrounding LAX and allowed for $1 million in street improvements, $50,000 worth of marketing for the area and other incentives.

A Superior Court judge struck down the ordinance in May, saying the council attempted to evade the state's referendum law by repealing the first "living wage" ordinance, then adopting a similarly worded measure a short time later.

The "living wage" ordinance will go into effect once the trial court complies with the Court of Appeal's instructions, according to Delgadillo's office.

"The hotel industry in Los Angeles is booming and workers deserve to also share some of that success," said Vivian Rothstein, deputy director of the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy.

"Legislation such as the living wage ordinance is important because often hotel owners don't play a fair wage to their employees and this is a perfect example of what our public officials can do to reverse the growing gap between the rich and the poor in our city."