LA Olympic Wage Ordinance Referendum Effort Fails

https://mynewsla.com/business/2025/09/08/la-olympic-wage-ordinance-goes-
into-effect-referendum-effort-fails-2/

A referendum effort aimed at overturning the so-called Olympic Wage 
Ordinance in Los Angeles failed to gather enough signatures to put the 
issue on the ballot, the City Clerk’s Office announced Monday.

In June, the City Council approved an ordinance to raise the minimum wage 
for hotel and airport workers with the goal of reaching $30 per hour by 
2028, as well as to provide new health credits for employees. However, 
within days, a coalition of local hospitality and tourism groups, under 
the name of L.A. Alliance for Tourism, Jobs, and Progress, challenged the 
policy, contending the wage increase would only harm local businesses 
during a volatile time.

The alliance submitted 140,774 signatures to the L.A. City Clerk’s Office. 
For the referendum to qualify on the June 2026 ballot, the group needed a 
total of 92,998 valid signatures.

The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk was responsible for 
verifying the signatures, which found 84,007 of them to be sufficient, 
failing to meet the L.A. City Charter requirements for the matter to 
qualify on the ballot.

The county noted that of the signatures filed, 2,339 were duplicates, and 
a total of 17,082 of signatures were withdrawn.

The city’s ordinance had been suspended and did not take effect while the 
referendum was being reviewed. Interim City Clerk Petty Santos said that 
since the process has concluded, the ordinance will go into effect 
immediately.

On Monday, the alliance raised concerns about the rescission signature 
process, both the city and county’s verification process, and transparency 
surrounding some of the actions taken by supporters of the ordinance.

“The numbers don’t lie: the opposition to the referendum had a resounding 
failure rate on their own signatures, but somehow managed to also have a 
sky-high match rate for our signers. That has never been seen before, 
despite over 100,000 positive signatures,” the alliance said in a 
statement.

“This mismatch suggests foul play — pure and simple,” the statement 
continued.

The alliance sent a letter to the District Attorney Nathan Hochman two 
weeks ago with “evidence of criminal conduct with respect to the signature 
withdrawal effort.” They also called for an investigation into the matter.

“The business community will stand strong in fighting back and ensuring 
Los Angeles can return to being an affordable city to work and live in,” 
the alliance said in a statement. “The initiative process, with a lower 
threshold for tax reductions and eliminations, has opened up many avenues 
by which we can accomplish those goals, in addition to other initiatives 
to continue to realign the interest of City Hall with everyday Angelenos.”

Additionally, the group criticized the city for failing to meet their 
charter-mandated 300-day deadline to release the results of the signature-
gathering, which they described as reflecting a “broader pattern of 
troubling opacity that has plagued the entire verification process from 
the start.”

Meanwhile, Los Angeles City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez, who sponsored 
the Olympic Wage ordinance alongside several of his colleagues, hailed the 
county’s findings.

“This outcome sends a clear message to corporate interests in LA and 
across the country: working people can fight and win, no matter how much 
money or misinformation is used to stop us,” Soto-Martinez said in a 
statement.

Labor unions Unite Here Local 11 and SEIU-United Service Workers West 
lobbied for the ordinance, which members said would help them pay rent, 
groceries, cover medical bills and remain in the city where they work.

The labor groups had previously urged city officials to “invalidate” 
petition signatures, claiming that signature gatherers misled voters by 
suggesting the measure would raise wages when it would actually block 
them.

Unite Here Local 11 filed complaints with both California Labor 
Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower and Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee 
Feldstein Soto, citing alleged misconduct. In their complaints, union 
representatives cited testimony they received from voters.

In one instance, a witness alleged that he was “violently assaulted and 
punched in the face by a referendum petition circulator,” Unite Here Local 
11 said.

The union also alleged that the referendum campaign offered unhoused 
people cash in exchange for registering to vote and signing their 
petition.

The L.A. City Council also called for an investigation into alleged fraud 
and other misconduct by signature gathers on both sides of the issue.

On Tuesday, hotel and airport workers are expected to rally and host a 
news conference on the south lawn steps of City Hall, where they will 
celebrate the Olympic Wage ordinance.

“Tourism workers demand airlines and hotels Pay Up Now! In a historic 
victory over some of the world’s largest corporations who spent over $3 
million in a campaign that deceived Angelenos, workers mobilized and 
defeated the CEOs’ campaign to lower wages,” according to a joint 
statement from the labor groups.

“The Olympic Wage must be implemented immediately. After years of speaking 
up at City Council meetings, protesting at City Hall and LAX, and even 
fasting for three days before a Council vote, workers have yet again 
triumphed over corporate interests. Elected officials must do right by the 
workers who will make mega-events like the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 
Olympics happen and stand strong against corporations who seek to 
undermine workers and Angelenos who have again supported raising wages,” 
the statement continued.


-- 
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