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 2026 ballot, the City Clerk’s Office announced Monday, Sept. 8.
In June, the Los Angeles 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. But 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 harm local businesses during a volatile time.
The L.A. Alliance for Tourism, Jobs, and Progress submitted 140,774 signatures to the L.A. City Clerk’s Office. For their referendum to qualify on the June 2026 ballot, they needed a total of 92,998 valid signatures. But the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, responsible for verifying the signatures, 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county noted that of the signatures that were filed, 2,339 were duplicates, and a total of 17,082 of signatures were withdrawn.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 Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, who sponsored the Olympic Wage ordinance with several of his colleagues, hailed the county’s findings.
“This outcome sends a clear message to corporate interests in L.A. 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 at 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.