XPost: rec.sport.olympics, alt.los-angeles, sac.politics   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns, alt.fraud   
   From: leroysoetoro@americans-first.com   
      
   https://mynewsla.com/business/2025/09/08/la-olympic-wage-ordinance-goes-   
   into-effect-referendum-effort-fails-2/   
      
   A referendum effort aimed at overturning the so-called Olympic Wage   
   Ordinance in Los Angeles failed to gather enough signatures to put the   
   issue on the ballot, the City Clerk’s Office announced Monday.   
      
   In June, the City Council approved an ordinance to raise the minimum wage   
   for hotel and airport workers with the goal of reaching $30 per hour by   
   2028, as well as to provide new health credits for employees. However,   
   within days, a coalition of local hospitality and tourism groups, under   
   the name of L.A. Alliance for Tourism, Jobs, and Progress, challenged the   
   policy, contending the wage increase would only harm local businesses   
   during a volatile time.   
      
   The alliance submitted 140,774 signatures to the L.A. City Clerk’s Office.   
   For the referendum to qualify on the June 2026 ballot, the group needed a   
   total of 92,998 valid signatures.   
      
   The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk was responsible for   
   verifying the signatures, which found 84,007 of them to be sufficient,   
   failing to meet the L.A. City Charter requirements for the matter to   
   qualify on the ballot.   
      
   The county noted that of the signatures filed, 2,339 were duplicates, and   
   a total of 17,082 of signatures were withdrawn.   
      
   The city’s ordinance had been suspended and did not take effect while the   
   referendum was being reviewed. Interim City Clerk Petty Santos said that   
   since the process has concluded, the ordinance will go into effect   
   immediately.   
      
   On Monday, the alliance raised concerns about the rescission signature   
   process, both the city and county’s verification process, and transparency   
   surrounding some of the actions taken by supporters of the ordinance.   
      
   “The numbers don’t lie: the opposition to the referendum had a resounding   
   failure rate on their own signatures, but somehow managed to also have a   
   sky-high match rate for our signers. That has never been seen before,   
   despite over 100,000 positive signatures,” the alliance said in a   
   statement.   
      
   “This mismatch suggests foul play — pure and simple,” the statement   
   continued.   
      
   The alliance sent a letter to the District Attorney Nathan Hochman two   
   weeks ago with “evidence of criminal conduct with respect to the signature   
   withdrawal effort.” They also called for an investigation into the matter.   
      
   “The business community will stand strong in fighting back and ensuring   
   Los Angeles can return to being an affordable city to work and live in,”   
   the alliance said in a statement. “The initiative process, with a lower   
   threshold for tax reductions and eliminations, has opened up many avenues   
   by which we can accomplish those goals, in addition to other initiatives   
   to continue to realign the interest of City Hall with everyday Angelenos.”   
      
   Additionally, the group criticized the city for failing to meet their   
   charter-mandated 300-day deadline to release the results of the signature-   
   gathering, which they described as reflecting a “broader pattern of   
   troubling opacity that has plagued the entire verification process from   
   the start.”   
      
   Meanwhile, Los Angeles City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez, who sponsored   
   the Olympic Wage ordinance alongside several of his colleagues, hailed the   
   county’s findings.   
      
   “This outcome sends a clear message to corporate interests in LA and   
   across the country: working people can fight and win, no matter how much   
   money or misinformation is used to stop us,” Soto-Martinez said in a   
   statement.   
      
   Labor unions Unite Here Local 11 and SEIU-United Service Workers West   
   lobbied for the ordinance, which members said would help them pay rent,   
   groceries, cover medical bills and remain in the city where they work.   
      
   The labor groups had previously urged city officials to “invalidate”   
   petition signatures, claiming that signature gatherers misled voters by   
   suggesting the measure would raise wages when it would actually block   
   them.   
      
   Unite Here Local 11 filed complaints with both California Labor   
   Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower and Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee   
   Feldstein Soto, citing alleged misconduct. In their complaints, union   
   representatives cited testimony they received from voters.   
      
   In one instance, a witness alleged that he was “violently assaulted and   
   punched in the face by a referendum petition circulator,” Unite Here Local   
   11 said.   
      
   The union also alleged that the referendum campaign offered unhoused   
   people cash in exchange for registering to vote and signing their   
   petition.   
      
   The L.A. City Council also called for an investigation into alleged fraud   
   and other misconduct by signature gathers on both sides of the issue.   
      
   On Tuesday, hotel and airport workers are expected to rally and host a   
   news conference on the south lawn steps of City Hall, where they will   
   celebrate the Olympic Wage ordinance.   
      
   “Tourism workers demand airlines and hotels Pay Up Now! In a historic   
   victory over some of the world’s largest corporations who spent over $3   
   million in a campaign that deceived Angelenos, workers mobilized and   
   defeated the CEOs’ campaign to lower wages,” according to a joint   
   statement from the labor groups.   
      
   “The Olympic Wage must be implemented immediately. After years of speaking   
   up at City Council meetings, protesting at City Hall and LAX, and even   
   fasting for three days before a Council vote, workers have yet again   
   triumphed over corporate interests. Elected officials must do right by the   
   workers who will make mega-events like the 2026 World Cup and the 2028   
   Olympics happen and stand strong against corporations who seek to   
   undermine workers and Angelenos who have again supported raising wages,”   
   the statement continued.   
      
      
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