PARKS’ PLACE-Pockets feeling a little tight lately? It’s the end of the month, you might’ve shelled out for Halloween costumes and candy- in a few weeks it’ll be Thanksgiving, and then the holiday shopping season will be in full force.
Maybe you’re looking for a seasonal retail or restaurant job to complement your income. Wouldn’t it be nice to start at $15.25 an hour at Macy’s or Panda Express?
Sorry, didn’t mean to get your hopes up.
Yes, the minimum wage issue here in the city has popped up again conveniently as we steadily begin to voraciously shop and work this holiday season.
I remember like it was yesterday…in an all too familiar scene, late September, Council chambers were filled with union members in fluorescent-colored cotton t-shirts demanding $15.37 for hotel workers.
The Mayor approved the ordinance earlier this month, which goes into effect July 1, 2015 for hotels with 300 rooms or more and July 1, 2016 for hotels with 150 rooms or more.
Since then, hotel groups have threatened to sue the city for targeting the industry specifically, the Hotel Association cited how many jobs would be lost per council district on account of the wage increase, and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce (and other business groups) have also denounced the rash decision to approve such a wage increase without acknowledging their concerns.
Despite all the caution signs, less than two weeks later a motion was introduced to increase the minimum wage for all workers in the city to $15.25 an hour by 2019 (after reaching the Mayor’s proposed $13.25 in 2017).
Check out this article in the Los Angeles Times. Under the section, 'Will workers lose their jobs?' it states that on a federal level, increasing the minimum wage to $10.00 would raise over 900,000 workers above the poverty level but over 500,000 jobs would be eliminated. This is a steep price to pay on the federal level. What would be the cost of jobs on the local level if minimum wages were increased by 69% to $15.37?
Well the gravy train has slowed down a bit and Tuesday, the Economic Development Committee announced that the Chief Legislative Analyst’s (CLA) office along with the City Administrative Officer would seek an additional study from an outside party on the implications to employers and employees before any citywide minimum wage increase is finalized. Council should see the report January/February of next year.Hopefully, whoever’s allocated to do the study will be truly impartial and independent and not a friend of a union friend.
89.3 KPCC showed a glimpse in the day of the lives of a worker making minimum wage who may benefit from a wage increase and a business owner who would have to close because of the wage hike. As I’ve expressed before, it’s a complicated, multi-faceted issue that I hope will be researched with care.
Steve Lopez, where have you been?
Saturday, in the Los Angeles Times, he wrote a piece called, "With LA Council, Ceremonial Nonsense Gets in the Way of Real Action." You don’t say? I mean we just approved mandatory microchipping for adopted rabbits Tuesday. You saying that’s getting in the way of Council taking on more serious issues like retrofitting buildings for earthquakes? I feel like you could reissue this article ever three months, just changing the subjects. It’ll be our little secret.
{module [862]}
{module [662]}
Tuesday, Council agreed to accept requests for proposals (RFPs) for the Housing and Community Investment Department’s Urgent Repair Program for the 2015-16 program year.
The client that is awarded this contract would be responsible for correcting dangers or hazards in multifamily, residential rental units when the property owner fails to correct crucial issues (such as a sewage leak, exposed electrical wiring, etc.) in 48 hours. Please check the Los Angeles Business Assistance Virtual Network website regularly to see when this and other bid opportunities are available.Tuesday, Council also approved the Bureau of Sanitation’s Clean Streets/Healthy Streets program. The $5 million program would go towards intensive clean-ups in alleys and streets in each council district. You can see the Bureau of Sanitation’s presentation here.
Of course, here in my district, we lead and others follow.September 26 we kicked off the Clean LA Campaign where anyone, regardless of whether they lived in the district or not, could come and drop off a load of trash at Active Recycling on 2000 W. Slauson Ave. for free.
(Bernard Parks is Los Angeles Councilman for the 8th Council District. He is also former Los Angeles Police Chief. He can be reached at [email protected])
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 12 Issue 89
Pub: Nov 4, 2014
