Los Angeles just did it. They passed a phased increase to $30 an hour for hotel and airport workers by 2028. It’s the highest minimum wage law in the country—again.
And once again, West Hollywood is no longer leading.
Our city, the former vanguard of wage justice, currently pays hotel workers $19.61 an hour. Non-hotel workers—retail clerks, servers, dishwashers, baristas—make $19.65. Indexed to inflation, yes. But stagnant in ambition.
Mayor Chelsea Byers calls herself a progressive. She speaks of worker justice, of equity, of protecting the vulnerable. She marched with SEIU, stood with Unite Here, posted solidarity with every strike within driving distance.
But where is she now?
If she believes $30 is the right number for hotel workers, why not for everyone?
That’s the question.
Because if Mayor Byers moves to raise wages for hotel workers only—as Los Angeles just did—while leaving everyone else behind, that’s not leadership. That’s optics.
That’s tiered labor policy. A caste system by ordinance.
It’s easy to grandstand for hotel housekeepers when the union’s in the room. It’s harder to stand up for a barista with two roommates and no bargaining unit. It’s easy to quote MLK when the cameras are on. It’s harder to write policy that closes the gap between who gets $30 and who doesn’t.
Mayor Byers has the power to introduce a new citywide wage ordinance tomorrow. She doesn’t need to wait for a report, a consultant, or a hashtag. All she needs is the courage to act.
And if the council believes $30 is sustainable in hotels, then they should explain—clearly and publicly—why it isn’t sustainable in restaurants, cafes, dry cleaners, shops, and salons.
Because the message today is clear:
- If you clean a room at the Pendry, we value your time at $30.
- If you clean tables on Sunset, we value your time at $19.65.
This is not justice.
This is not equity.
This is math with no moral center.
A challenge to the Council Majority:
Councilmembers Byers, Hang, and Erickson—if you believe what you say about working-class dignity, prove it. Don’t raise wages for some workers and call it progress. Raise them for all.
Anything less is solidarity by press release.
