$15 minimum wage could help South LA hotel workers

May 7, 2014 By 2 Comments


Embassy Suites hotel workers on strike | LA County Federation of Labor

Three Los Angeles City Council members have launched a bid to increase the wages of the city’s hotel workers to $15.37 an hour, a major pay jump for more than 40 percent of the industry’s workers who live below the poverty line.

The raise would affect hotels with more than 100 rooms — 87 of them in L.A. — and an estimated 10,000 employees. Union workers said the increase could lift housekeepers, busboys and maintenance workers out of poverty.

That could be especially significant in South L.A.’s 9th District, an area with the city’s highest poverty rate.

“Income inequality is a persistent issue plaguing our country, our city and especially our under-served South Los Angeles community,” said District 9 councilman Curren Price, who is pushing for the wage increase along with councilmembers Mike Bonin and Nury Martinez representing West Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, respectively. [Read more…]

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City Council votes to halt oil drilling in South LA and throughout city

March 1, 2014 By Leave a Comment


Additional reporting by Hailey Sayegh and Nicole Piper

Scroll down for a video documenting the efforts by South LA residents and activists to halt oil drilling in West Adams.

A boy plays in the apartment complex next to the Murphy Drill Site | Olga Grigoryants

A boy plays in the apartment complex next to the Murphy Drill Site | Olga Grigoryants

The Los Angeles City Council voted Friday for a citywide ordinance that would prohibit fracking in Los Angeles. The vote was the first step in a lengthy process to create the ordinance that, if approved, will halt activities associated with hydraulic fracturing. Thirteen out of 15 councilmembers voted “yes” with two members absent.

The moratorium, which is temporary compared to a permanent ban, would prohibit activity associated with “well stimulation and hydraulic fracturing” until “safety and reliability of Los Angeles water supplies are assured,” according to the motion.

More than 200 people, some from the South L.A. neighborhoods where oil production companies operate, gathered in the audience to show their support for moratorium. Many wore stickers that read “Ban Fracking Now.” [Read more…]

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Councilmembers call for increased hotel worker wages

February 19, 2014 By Leave a Comment


Nury Martinez, Mike Bonin and Curren Price outside City Hall | Katherine Davis

Nury Martinez, Mike Bonin and Curren Price outside City Hall | Katherine Davis

City Councilmembers Mike Bonin, Nury Martinez and Curren Price Jr. are proposing an increase of hotel worker wages to $15.37 per hour, a change that would apply to as many as 11,000 hotel employees working in hotels throughout Los Angeles that offer more than 100 rooms. The councilmembers, including Price from South L.A.’s District 9, say that as L.A.’s tourism industry grows, hotel workers deserve a share in the wealth. Some business organizations, however, are hesitant about the plan.

Click play on an audio story from Annenberg Radio News to hear arguments for and against the hike in pay. 

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