The area around Los Angeles International Airport would get an infusion of taxpayer investment and incentives for business under a new “living-wage” measure released Thursday, the Daily News reports.
The proposal comes just one week after an 11th-hour deal in which the council – facing a costly May election fight with a united business community – repealed the original living-wage ordinance imposed on Century Boulevard hotels.
But the new measure has only minor modifications from the original and drew an immediate outcry from the business community.
“This has some bells and whistles, but no significant changes,” said Harvey Englander, spokesman for the Century Corridor hotels that fought the earlier plan.
Outraged by the council’s extension of the law beyond firms under contract with city agencies, business leaders had planned to put the issue on the ballot in May.
“While the council did rescind their last ordinance, which avoided the referendum, they are coming back with essentially the same ordinance with no further discussions with us,” Englander said. “We were hoping the city would be open to having some discussions with us. But there hasn’t been one talk held.”
