Los Angeles unions have launched a radical push for a $30 minimum wage citywide and free rent for illegal aliens, threatening to transform the once-thriving cultural hub into an economic wasteland as businesses flee.
Key Takeaways
- Unite Here Local 11 has filed two ballot proposals: one to raise the minimum wage for all city workers to $30 by 2028, and another requiring public votes on large hotel projects.
- The L.A. Alliance for Tourism warns the wage hike will cause widespread job losses and business closures across the city.
- Los Angeles unions, including SEIU and LATU, are demanding a rent moratorium for illegal aliens and low-income earners.
- Property owners, 85% of whom are independent “mom and pop” landlords, warn they cannot survive without timely rent payments.
- LATU is organizing a “citywide day of action” on July 1, encouraging tenants to participate in a rent strike.
Union Power Play Threatens LA’s Economic Future
Unite Here Local 11 has dramatically escalated its battle against Los Angeles businesses by filing paperwork for two far-reaching ballot proposals. The first would raise the minimum wage for all city workers to $30 per hour by July 2028, nearly doubling the current general minimum wage of $17.28. The second proposal would require voter approval for major hotel and event center projects, particularly those receiving city subsidies, effectively giving unions veto power over development.
These measures represent a direct response to efforts by airlines and hotel businesses to overturn a city ordinance that specifically raises wages for hotel and airport workers. Kurt Petersen of Unite Here Local 11 disingenuously framed the union’s position, stating, “We agree that all workers should make more. We are hopeful since [airlines and hotels] think that only giving a living wage to one group is unfair, that they will immediately endorse it.”
Business Leaders Predict Economic Devastation
The L.A. Alliance for Tourism, Jobs and Progress, a coalition of businesses, has strongly condemned the union’s proposals. In a pointed statement, the Alliance warned, “The initiative being proposed will kill the Convention Center project that union workers would otherwise have and the tourism industry would benefit from. The union can play its games, but we remain focused on protecting L.A. residents from lasting, widespread job loss.”
Stuart Waldman, a prominent business leader, offered an even more dire prediction about the consequences of the $30 minimum wage proposal: “People will lose their jobs. Businesses will close. The city will become a barren land of empty storefronts and empty office buildings as employers go elsewhere.”
To place the measure on the ballot, Unite Here Local 11 needs to collect approximately 140,000 signatures within 120 days. The current hotel minimum wage in Los Angeles is $20.32 per hour, while airport workers at LAX earn a minimum of $25.23 per hour including healthcare payments – both already substantially higher than the general minimum wage.
Unions Demand Free Rent for Illegal Aliens
In a separate but equally radical move, Los Angeles unions including SEIU and the Los Angeles Tenants Union (LATU) are now demanding a rent moratorium for illegal aliens and low-income earners. This brazen demand comes as President Trump’s administration has stepped up enforcement of immigration laws, which the unions falsely characterize as “militarization” of communities.
“We know that many tenants will not be able to pay their rent come July 1. Why? Because this militarization of our communities, this occupation of our community, this terrorizing of our communities have closed down businesses, have taken away street vendors, have separated families — and then people cannot pay their rent. They have barely the minimum to survive,” said Kenia Alcocer of LATU.
Property Owners Face Financial Ruin
The union demand for rent moratoriums threatens to financially devastate thousands of small property owners who depend on rental income for their own survival. Daniel Yukelson of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles explained the reality facing property owners: “Over 85 percent of rental property owners in the city of Los Angeles are independent moms and pops who, for the most part, are already struggling to pay their bills. I understand that people are very scared, and rental property owners are very sympathetic to that. But as I said, you know, property owners are very dependent on receiving timely rent payments just to make ends meet.”
LATU is organizing a “citywide day of action” on July 1, encouraging a rent strike and pressing demands for an eviction moratorium. Meanwhile, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors has approved a study on the economic impact of immigration enforcement, likely designed to create political cover for policies benefiting illegal aliens at the expense of citizens and legal immigrants.
These radical union demands exemplify how progressive forces in Los Angeles are actively undermining the city’s economic foundation while simultaneously demanding financial protection for those who have entered the country illegally. The combined effect of artificially inflated wages and suspended rent payments threatens to accelerate business flight from Los Angeles, leaving behind the hollowed-out economy that President Trump has repeatedly warned about.
