Union leaders, workers, business owners rally for $25 hospitality minimum wage

One day before a scheduled City Council vote, Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera joined hospitality workers, union leaders and small business owners Monday to announce support for the Hospitality Minimum Wage Ordinance. 

The ordinance, proposed by Elo-Rivera, seeks to gradually increase the minimum wage for San Diego’s hospitality and tourism workers to $25 over a five-year period. 

According to the staff report, the ordinance would apply to hotels with at least 150 rooms, amusement parks including SeaWorld and event centers such as Petco Park.

“For decades, the tourism industry has known that city hall worked for them, much more than the city worked for its workers and everyday San Diegans,” Elo-Rivera said at the briefing. “Those days are over. No more. We work for the people. We work for San Diegans, and because we work for San Diegans, we’re going to fight to ensure that every worker in the city has the dignity they deserve, the fairness they deserve and the future that San Diego’s working families deserve.”

While Elo-Rivera’s original proposal would have established the $25 minimum wage on Jan. 1, 2026, the ordinance was updated to reflect a gradual increase following opposition from local hotels, businesses and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Opponents have argued that the wage increase will manifest in higher prices and job cuts, hurting businesses and the local economy. However, labor researchers and small business owners at the rally argued the opposite. 

“Research shows that increasing wages not only lifts individuals and families out of poverty, but it also boosts local economies,” said Satomi Rash-Zeigler, executive director of University of California, San Diego’s Labor Center. “When workers earn more, they spend more in their communities on groceries, healthcare, education and housing, invigorating our local businesses. An increase to $25 per hour would enable nearly 70% of hospitality workers to afford basic essentials.”

Rash-Zeigler also mentioned at the briefing that 75% of hospitality workers in San Diego spend more than half their income on rent, and that nearly a third have experienced homelessness.

Emily Renda, board chair of Business for Good and owner of a local operations agency, also highlighted the business benefits of a higher minimum wage.

“What’s good for workers is good for business,” she said at the briefing. “At Business for Good, we reject this outdated thinking because we’ve seen the evidence in our own companies. When workers earn living wages, they become better employees, more stable, more motivated, with lower turnover. That means better service for customers and lower hiring costs for employers.”

Renda and other speakers also pointed out strong opposition to the ordinance from multinational hospitality chains.

“According to the San Diego Tourism Authority, the tourism industry had a $22 billion impact in San Diego last year,” said Brigette Browning, president of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council. “If corporations can afford billions in stock buybacks for wealthy shareholders, they can afford to pay the workers who generate that wealth at least a basic wage. $25 is a compromise. The real living wage in San Diego is over $30 an hour. This ordinance is a modest, necessary step toward allowing workers to survive in the city that they help make prosperous … This ordinance exempts small hotels and mom-and-pop shops. It specifically targets tourist companies that make plenty of profits, including chains like Hilton, Hyatt and Sea World.”

Genoveva Aguilar, vice president of the Service Employees International Union’s California sector, argued that the $25 minimum wage is “the least the billionaires can do.”

“San Diego indeed is a beautiful city, but the workers who make our city an attractive destination for so many tourists cannot afford to be tourists in their own city,” Aguilar said. “Raising the floor for hospitality workers raises the floor for every worker in San Diego. The time is now for the billionaires in the hospitality industry who [are] cashing in tremendous profits to pay workers what they deserve. It’s an issue of fairness, of dignity and respect. Workers who make San Diego a wonderful place to visit also deserve to enjoy all the amazing sights our city has to offer.”