Big Money Won't Stop Living Wage Campaign

By Julie Lopez Dad

Rina Cortez can't rely on $50,000 campaign checks to help her secure a living wage.

Cortez -- a housekeeper at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel who earns $8.25 an hour after 12 years on the job, with no vacation, no sick leave and no vacation -- is counting on a massive community effort to protect the living wage law she needs to pull her family out of poverty.

That effort is now underway, testing once again whether the city's tradition of grassroots activism can hold out against corporate attempts to dominate local politics.

This week's campaign finance statements confirm what many people in Santa Monica already know-that the hotel industry is spending a lot of money to stop Measure JJ, the living wage ordinance. Since July, opponents of the living wage have raised more than ten times as much as supporters, with more than 90 percent coming from the hotel industry.

Over the last three months, beach hotels have contributed nearly $250,000 to the No on JJ campaign. All told, the hotel industry has now spent a staggering $1.8 million opposing the living wage.

Among the major contributors this quarter was the Radisson Huntley Hotel, where room attendants earn $8.75 an hour and dishwashers are paid $7.50, both without family health benefits. Radisson room attendants in San Francisco make 50 percent more, and in New York City, their wages are 100 percent higher--even though room prices in all three cities are comparable.

Also among the large donors was the Hilton Corporation-operated Doubletree Guest Suites, where longtime employees such as housekeeper Flora Andrade go without health insurance for themselves or their kids. If she worked for a Hilton Hotel in San Francisco or New York, Flora would have free family health benefits and a wage that would keep her and her children out of poverty.

Where is all the hotel money going? Most is being spent on negative mail pieces. These mailers say a lot of things, but they have only one goal: to make sure that the large beach hotels won't have to pay their workers a living wage. That's the bottom line.

Yet the beach hotels can well afford to pay a fair wage -- a fact confirmed by the city-commissioned living wage study. If there were any doubt, it should be put to rest by an endorsement letter for Measure JJ released this week. The letter was signed by 119 economists from top universities in the U.S. as well as Europe after they reviewed the study and the provisions of the living wage law.

In offering their endorsement, the economists note that Measure JJ strives to minimize any negative impact by limiting its application to large businesses and including a hardship exemption.

They also emphasize the effectiveness of living wage laws in fighting poverty. "As economists, we believe that living wage legislation is an important tool for improving the living standards of working Americans," says the letter. "Research has shown that these laws can reduce poverty by providing higher pay to the working poor."

Another group made its voice heard this week as well-the religious community. Southern California's top Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders joined with local clergy in endorsing Measure JJ.

In a letter signed by Los Angeles Roman Catholic Bishop Gabino Zavala, Southern California Board of Rabbis President Steven Carr Reuben and Los Angeles Episcopal Bishop Jon J. Bruno, among others, the leaders state, "In this historic moment in which 43 percent of working families in Los Angeles County cannot meet basic expenses, we believe that this kind of legislation is a necessary response to a true crisis."

Economists, religious leaders, educators, elected officials, community groups-all agree that Measure JJ is a good law that balances the interests of workers and business.

Of course, that's not what you'll read on the anti-living wage mailers that keep coming to your home. Just remember who's paying for them.

And on November 5, remember to vote for the people who really need your support-the hard-working women and men who have helped make Santa Monica a world-class tourism destination.

Vote yes on Measure JJ.