San Diego approves $25 minimum wage for hospitality workers
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Downtown San Diego. Photo: Kevin Carter/Getty Images
Thousands of San Diego's lowest paid workers in the tourism industry are getting a significant pay bump that city leaders pursued to address the cost-of-living crisis.
Why it matters: The raises, which will come in phases over four years, are a win for employees who power one of the city's biggest industries.
Driving the news: San Diego City Council unanimously voted this week to increase the minimum wage to $25 an hour for some hospitality workers, a roughly 45% increase over San Diego's current $17.25 general minimum wage.
- The meeting Tuesday drew hundreds of people on both sides of the issue, the Union-Tribune reported.
- The gradual annual raises will start next summer and won't reach $25 an hour until 2030. That's a major change from the initial proposal, which sought to impose the $25 minimum wage in January.
Zoom in: Once signed by Mayor Todd Gloria, the new law will affect housekeepers, parking attendants, ticket-takers, food service workers, landscapers and others at hotels with at least 150 guest rooms, plus at SeaWorld and event centers such as Pechanga Arena and Petco Park.
- San Diego State University's sports and entertainment venues and the zoo are exempt.
Between the lines: The phased-in approach was a critical adjustment to address industry stakeholders' concerns and hopefully avoid a ballot measure that could overturn the wage increase, Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, who led the effort, told Axios.
- The compromise will give workers at least a 10% raise in the first year.
What they're saying: "This means a lot," said Samara Talavera, a single mom who's worked as a hotel housekeeper for 20 years and who attended the meeting, NBC7 reported.
- "Now I can afford my rent, my groceries," she said.
Reality check: A single adult with no children would need to make about $31 an hour to make ends meet in San Diego, according to MIT's living wage calculator.
Catch up quick: Local labor unions ignited the public fight for the wage increase at a rally last year and Elo-Rivera proposed the change earlier this year.
- The effort faced fierce opposition from the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Padres and major players in the hospitality industry who argued it would hurt local businesses by increasing operating costs, leading to job and revenue losses, higher prices and small business closures.
- Yes, but: Elo-Rivera says the cost burden will mostly fall on "out-of-state multinational corporations or the visitors that stay in those hotels."
The bottom line: Tourism destinations like San Diego are wrestling with how to ensure the thriving industry benefits residents and increasing wages is an "important piece of that puzzle," Elo-Rivera said.