Press Release
Valley VOTE
Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment
14622 Ventura Blvd. #424, Sherman Oaks, CA. 91403
January 16, 2007 Contact: Joe Vitti -President
javittisr@cs.com (818) 366-1668


The Valley VOTE Board of Directors has voted overwhelming to support the following motion:

“Valley VOTE opposes any effort by the City of Los Angeles to regulate the wages paid by any private business.”

Valley VOTE opposes the Los Angeles City Council’s ordinance that a private company must pay its employees a “living wage.” This “living wage” ordinance only applied to firms doing business with the city. Now the concept has been extended to include businesses that benefit from proximity to a city-owned facility; the Los Angeles International Airport. The City Council has defined that to mean some 12 hotels located along Century Blvd. This extension of the ordinance not only applies to hotel owners, but retail businesses located in the hotels.

If the city can prevail in this approach, then what other businesses are next? Would the businesses surrounding Van Nuys Airport be similarly affected? Onerous regulations, fees, and taxes have driven businesses out of Los Angeles and left the city with a reputation of being unfriendly to business. Imposition of this ordinance does not bode well for retaining businesses in Los Angeles, nor for encouraging businesses to locate anywhere in the city. The City Council should not be permitted to tell any business how much it must pay its employees.
Valley VOTE goes on record as vigorously opposing the City Council’s action in this regard.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Valley VOTE Mission Statement
Valley VOTE, a diverse coalition of San Fernando Valley residents, business people, educators, community activists, and organizations, is committed to exploring and implementing programs that empower the people of the San Fernando Valley and the City of Los Angeles, including opportunities to improve local governance, education and public participation on policy matters.

Click here to return to the Press Releases page