On Wednesday, Judge Andrew Birotte denied the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s preliminary injunction application against the City of Los Angeles and its Hotel Workers Act, which raises the hourly minimum wage for large-hotel workers in Los Angeles to US$15.37.
In a letter to members Thursday, AH&LA President Katherine Luger stated that the association is moving quickly to convene its Los Angeles Litigation Steering Committee to analyze the decision and discuss next steps on the injunction.
“We remain concerned that L.A. hotels will suffer irreparable harm before the court has the opportunity to fully consider the legality of the Hotel Workers Act,” Luger wrote. “Already, the act is interfering with the collective bargaining process and giving unions a lever to use in organizing non-union hotels that, in our opinion, is not an appropriate use of the city’s legislative powers.”