San Diego can’t afford an L.A.-style wage mandate

VOSD Podcast: Minimum Wage Fight

It’s dealmaking season at San Diego City Hall. Our editor Scott Lewis has been closely following a push to raise the minimum wage for certain workers in the tourism and events industry. One big player already secured an exemption from the city. Could there be more deals in the works? This week on the VOSD Podcast, our hosts explain what’s going on. Also on the show: We don’t know about you, but we’ve been getting a lot of mailers about Propositi…

San Diego can’t afford an L.A.-style wage mandate

San Diego may be on the verge of adopting a $25 minimum wage for hospitality workers. Before the City Council votes, I want to offer a perspective grounded not in theory, but in experience. Earlier this year, I halted a major hotel expansion project in Los Angeles — the planned 395-guest-room tower at Hilton Universal City — and withdrew from the hotel’s Olympic room-block agreement. The reason wasn’t a lack of demand or a sudden change in strat…

Could a $25 minimum wage reshape San Diego’s hospitality industry?

If passed, the ordinance would apply to workers in San Diego’s tourism sector, including hotel employees, janitorial staff at event centers and workers at major entertainment venues. The debate arrives as San Diego’s summer tourism season, a cornerstone of the local economy, has ended, leaving both workers and businesses reflecting on the lessons of a busy travel period.  Critics argue that the policy singles out one industry and may have uninte…