The aggressive wage ordinance that would have threatened jobs was not heard yesterday by Los Angeles County leaders – but the voice of business was. Although the proposal to raise minimum hourly pay at theme parks and hotels to $25 was withdrawn by Supervisor Janice Hahn following coordinated pushback from the business community, BizFed leaders still turned out in blue for yesterday's Board of Supervisors meeting.
We're changing the tide. During public comment, we counted more business blue shirts than Unite Here red shirts in the audience. Thank you to all who stayed to speak.
WHAT WENT DOWN
Our Sarah Wiltfong led a group of business owners and operators representing hotels, theme parks, and small vendors to testify. They told supervisors how their budgets would be squeezed by pay hikes of nearly 50% overnight, how many jobs they would be forced to cut, and why economic impact studies are crucial before any local governments implement wage increases.
A new report issued by Los Angeles County's chief executive officer said their office was unable to thoroughly study the impacts of the now-withdrawn wage ordinance "due to the compressed timeframe."
It is unacceptable for policy impacting millions to be crafted without robust research and data. BizFed's advocacy on this issue is far from over. We want to express our gratitude to the members and partners below who helped us keep the drumbeat going throughout our advocacy campaign, plus business owners on Universal CityWalk and hoteliers with the Asian American Hotel Owners Association.
Janet Zaldua, Marina Del Rey Tourism Board
Chad Meander, LAX Coastal Chamber
Patricia Bruno & Elissa Diaz, LA Area Chamber
Todd Vradenburg, National Association of Theatre Owners
Heather Rozman, Hotel Association of Los Angeles
Lynn Mohrfeld, CA Hotel and Lodging Association
Rachel Michelin, CA Retailers Association
Matt Sutton, CA Restaurant Association
Genevieve Morrill, West Hollywood Chamber
Luis Portillo & Nayiri Baghdassarian, San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership
AMPLIFYING THE VOICE OF BUSINESS
Head to our Instagram (@bizfedla) for photos and quick snippets of testimony from business leaders. We encourage you to repost and borrow our language thanking Supervisors Hilda Solis, Holly Mitchell, Lindsey Horvath, Janice Hahn, and Kathryn Barger for hearing the voice of business this time. Look out for next steps soon. The fight isn't over.
Onward!
Tracy Hernandez
BizFed Founding CEO
