LA City Council approves double-digit raises for tens of thousands of workers

The City of Los Angeles minimum wage will go up to $20 per hour starting Sunday, April 21.

Tens of thousands of Los Angeles city workers will receive pay increases equivalent to a 24% raise over the next several years as part of new employee contracts which the City Council approved on Wednesday, April 17.

Proponents say it’s only fair for the city to offer living wages and improved benefits to workers who deliver the services that Angelenos rely on, from picking up trash and repairing sidewalks to maintaining parks and answering 911 calls.

But the labor agreements – expected to annually cost more than $1 billion a year by 2028 – come at a time when officials are grappling with how to balance the city’s budget. The city has overspent by hundreds of millions of dollars this fiscal year, and revenues are less than projected.

In recent weeks, city officials have discussed eliminating nearly 2,000 vacant city government positions, some of which have gone unfilled for years, to get them off the books. Mayor Karen Bass, who must release her proposed budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year by Monday, has already signaled that that’s her intent.

More than 33,450 workers including recreation and parks employees, sanitation workers, custodians, traffic control officers and accountants, among others, will receive a 6% raise by the end of 2024, the first year of the contract. The full raises approved Wednesday, which impact the majority of civilian employees, will be spread out over several years.

In addition, the minimum wage for city workers will be bumped up to $20 per hour starting Sunday, April 21, with additional increases until the minimum hourly wage reaches $25 in June 2026.

During Wednesday’s meeting, the City Council voted 14-0, with Councilmember Kevin de León absent, to approve new contracts for employees represented by the Coalition of Los Angeles City Unions, the Engineers and Architects Association and the City Attorney Units, as well as the Fiscal and Policy Professional Association and non-represented employees.

Since August, the City Council has approved raises for other groups of city employees, including rank-and-file police officers, higher-ranking members of the Los Angeles Police Department and city bus drivers.

The contract for members of the Coalition of L.A. City Unions will end in December 2028 and result in raises totaling 24% when compounded. The contract for engineers and architects will expire in December 2027 and reflects an 18% compounded raise over that period. The City Attorney Units’ contract will expire in January 2029 and result in an approximately 24% raise, compounded, over that period, according to a report from Chief Administrative Officer Matt Szabo to the City Council.

Earlier this week, Szabo told the City Council’s personnel committee that the city increased its sick leave payout from 50% to 100% and doubled the paid time off for parental leave to 12 weeks in hopes of increasing employee retention.

To further address hiring and retention challenges, the city will offer higher retention pay to 911 operators while city veterinarians will receive an extra 20% pay increase.

Steve Koffroth, chair of the Coalition of L.A. City Unions and interim director of research and marketing at Service Employees International Union Local 721, said during that committee meeting that the agreements were a “good deal for all parties.” The coalition represents a range of city employees, from recreation and parks employees to sanitation workers, custodians, traffic control officers, Los Angeles World Airports workers, and others.

“Your approval means respecting and retaining employees who have faithfully served the city through many trials,” he said.

Mayor Karen Bass had mentioned during her State of the City address on Monday that L.A. has become less affordable for working people, including for city workers.

“We want to attract and retain committed, driven, skilled and career-oriented employees,” said Bass, adding that she’s heard of city workers who help bring homeless people inside but are themselves at risk of becoming homeless.

“If we want to house people, if we want to keep our city safe, if we want to fix our streets, we must pay our workers fairly,” Bass said.

Marleen Fonseca, executive director of the Engineers and Architects Association, said in an email that her union’s members “approved the contract overwhelmingly” and that she believes the city can handle the cost.

“As emphasized by Mayor (Karen Bass) at her State of the City speech, billions of dollars are expected to be generated over the coming years with the World Cup and the Olympics,” Fonseca said.

Not everyone is happy about the agreements.

During Wednesday’s council meeting, employees of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Records and Identification Division spoke against their deal. More than 10 of them urged councilmembers to reconsider their contract to further discuss telecommuting options and plans to address a worker shortage.

Anna Castro called the division’s workload “heavy,” with workers often responding to several agencies seeking crime and arrest reports, head shots, documents needed for court proceedings and helping residents in multiple languages. She also noted that the division provides services 24/7.

Wednesday’s vote by the City Council came eight months after thousands of city employees staged a one-day strike over stalled contract negotiations.