Hundreds of hotel, service workers rally in downtown San Diego for $25-an-hour minimum wage

San Diego, CA – May 01: People march towards city hall during a protest for hospitality workers to make a minimum wage of $25/Hour at San Diego Bayfront Park on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 in San Diego, CA.

Hundreds of lower paid service workers gathered in downtown San Diego on Wednesday afternoon to formally kick off a campaign to raise their hourly pay to $25.

A proposed ordinance seeking a citywide pay hike for workers employed by hotels, tech companies, and large convention and sports facilities has already been drafted, and a coalition of three local labor unions are hoping to persuade the San Diego City Council to enact it into law.

The San Diego Service Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance targets hotel workers and janitor and security personnel employed at biotech and technology companies, as well as those working at “event centers,” which can include stadiums, sports arenas and large concert halls and convention centers. The current minimum wage in San Diego is $16.85 an hour.

“Twenty-five dollars an hour is still hard to live on in San Diego,” Lorena Gonzalez, head of the California Labor Federation, said to the cheering workers gathered at Bayfront Park, adjoining the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel. “We know we are asking for something that barely, people who are working 40 hours a week could even get by on. This is not unreasonable. It is time that the tourism industry, who has always benefited off of public money and the public infrastructure and straight-out cash for promoting them out in the world, give back to the workers. I want you to know that California’s unions, which I am proud to lead … stand shoulder and shoulder with you.”

Wearing their union shirts, the crowd of protesters held aloft signs reading “Respect Our Work $25/Hour Now,” as they prepared to march to City Hall.

Unite Here Local 30 president Brigette Browning, who also spoke at the rally, told the Union-Tribune that the first step before bringing the proposed ordinance before elected leaders is to find a council member willing to sponsor the legislation. She says she hopes the matter could be heard by the City Council this summer, with implementation, at the earliest, by Jan. 1.

This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.

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