LOS ANGELES, CA (May 13, 2026) – Today, the City Council voted on a first round of reforms to the Olympic Wage Ordinance — reducing the wage increase set for July 1, extending the schedule, and adjusting healthcare benefits for hotel and airport workers.
While more negotiations will take place in the coming days, this underscores that strong businesses and strong wages are not competing priorities.
After more than a year of negotiations, we must continue to come together and prove that when labor, business, and our elected leaders collaborate, we can deliver balanced solutions that support workers while recognizing the serious economic challenges facing Los Angeles employers.
We’ve only reached this point because everyone finally sat down and dealt with reality. You can’t keep writing policies that impact businesses from inside City Hall without talking to the people who actually create jobs and sign paychecks.
Los Angeles cannot continue treating its job creators as an endless source of revenue while ignoring the cumulative impacts of rising costs, economic volatility, and punitive tax structures. When businesses can no longer absorb those pressures, they reduce operations, leave the city, or shut down entirely. We see this happen again and again, like most recently with local institutions Cole’s and Clifton’s, and we must continue to work together to do all we can to protect these businesses, the millions of Angelenos they employ, and city services they fund.
The Central City Association looks forward to continued negotiations with an eye towards a final agreement that is in the best interest of all Angelenos.