League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Los Angeles County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
	Measure N Hotel Workers' Wages and Sick Leave City of Long Beach Ordinance - Majority Approval Required Pass: 88,587 / 64.32% Yes votes ...... 49,150 / 35.68% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure N

Arguments Against Measure N

Measure N is reasonable, sensible, and helpful. Measure N is reasonable. Long Beach's hospitality industry is important and successful. Our hotels are thriving. Their room rates are as much (or more) than comparable cities. Measure N only applies to the 16 largest hotels with more than 100 rooms. Today, Long Beach hotel workers only make a little more than the minimum wage. Their hard work should earn them a living wage - $2,000 per month - enough for rent, utilities, gas and groceries. Measure N is sensible. Long Beach would become one of 33 California cities to adopt a Living Wage Ordinance. Ventura, Sonoma, Sacramento, San Jose, San Diego, Pasadena, Irvine. All these cities have some form of Living Wage Ordinance. These ordinances apply to businesses, like our hotels, that benefit from taxpayer subsidies or contracts. And what could be more sensible than giving people who welcome visitors to Long Beach - who clean the rooms, cook the food, and wash the dishes a total of 5 sick days off per year? Measure N is helpful. Most of the 2,000 hotel workers who are covered by Measure N live in Long Beach. They spend what they earn in Long Beach. They buy local. Big hotels take the money they earn and send it to their Chicago or New York headquarters. Measure N money stays in Long Beach and supports Long Beach's small businesses. Measure N helps local people buy local. Hundreds of Long Beach's small businesses are supporting Measure N. "Yes on Measure N will keep $7 million in Long Beach. And don't forget - "Buy Local!" REV. JERALD STINSON Senior Minister, First Congregational Church of Long Beach DR. SUJA LOWENTHAL Long Beach City Councilmember STEVEN SARINANA Owner, Trebor/Nevets THE REV. GARY COMMINS Rector, st. Luke's Episcopal Church HILDA ORTIZ Small Business Owner Rebuttal to Arguments For VOTE NO ON MEASURE N The out-of-town special interest groups supporting Measure N refuse to tell you the truth about Measure N. When you read the details, Measure N is unreasonable and hurts the City of Long Beach. Measure N is unreasonable. It attacks our fragile tourism and convention business at a time when competition from Los Angeles, San Diego and Anaheim is at its worst. In fact, Long Beach hotel rates are less than nearby cities + rates that will rise much higher if Measure N is approved. Don't let them fool you - Measure N is unique to Long Beach. Despite the lie that other cities have imposed similar minimum wages on hotels, NONE of the other cities cited by the proponents of Measure N created a system that affects only one type of private business. However, the proponents don't want facts to get in the way of their argument. Measure N hurts the City of Long Beach because it will: Drive local businesses out of Long Beach; Make Long Beach a less competitive convention and conference destination; Force local businesses to lay-off employees; and Cause shortfalls to the Long Beach budget, forcing cuts to our vital City services such as police and firefighters. Measure N does, however, create a large loophole that allows hotels to pay less than the minimum wage if they become a union hotel + is that really fair for Long Beach workers? Read Measure N closely and research the proponent's claims. You'll see that they aren't telling you the truth. VOTE NO ON MEASURE N SANDY CAJAS LINARES President & CEO /RHCC DEMETRIOS LOIZIDES Owner Georges Greek Café JANE J. NETHERTON CEO International City Bank RANDY GORDON President/CEO Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce

VOTE NO ON MEASURE N Measure N will drive local businesses out of Long Beach and cause cuts to vital City services such as firefighters and police. Measure N appears to be a simple increase in the minimum wage for just one set of employees - Long Beach hotel workers - but you need to read the fine print. The devil is ALWAYS in the details. Measure N: Forces employers to pay a minimum 2% yearly raise FOREVER for all employees, regardless of how the economy is doing or how the employees actually perform on the job; and Creates a loophole to allow businesses to pay less than a minimum wage if they agree to become a union hotel - In fact, Measure N is a power play by out-of-town special interest groups to take lucrative monthly dues from local hotel workers. If Measure N passes: Local hotels will be forced to raise room rates, making Long Beach a less competitive convention and conference destination, which will reduce the taxes hotels pay the City; Long Beach could be forced to further cut funding for vital City services, such as firefighters and police, due to the reduced hotel taxes paid to the City's general fund; Out-of-town special interest groups will start targeting other Long Beach industries, driving local jobs and small businesses out of Long Beach; and Some current hotel employees will lose their jobs because of the new costs to comply with Measure N. Read Measure N closely. It is an unfair tax on one of our most fragile and important industries which will drive local businesses out of Long Beach and force large cuts to City services such as police and fire. Vote NO on Measure N. SANDY CAJAS LINARES Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, President & CEO DEMETRIOS LOIZIDES Owner Georges Greek Cafe JANE J. NETHERTON CEO, International City Bank RANDY GORDON President/CEO, Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce Rebuttal to Arguments Against Measure N will keep money in Long Beach and boost our local economy. Hundreds of small businesses support Measure N because they rely on locals who spend money in their shops. Long Beach hotel workers live here and buy here. Big hotel chains send profits to headquarters in New York and Chicago. Don't get lost in political rhetoric and overblown claims. Measure N is simple, straightforward, and reasonable. Industry analysts show that Long Beach hotels are doing very well. They are priced so far below their competition that the analysts project Long Beach hotels will raise their room rates by 25% in the next few years with or without Measure N. Long Beach taxpayers have been generous to the hotels. Our direct subsidies have been over $100 million. It's been a good investment and helped make our tourism and convention industry strong. Measure N will make it even stronger. Measure N will keep visitors coming back to Long Beach because higher wages lead to higher worker satisfaction and productivity + meaning better service for guests. Measure N gives hotel workers just $2,000 a month. And Measure N gives hotel workers just 5 sick days off per year. That's good for the health of guests. Measure N only applies to big hotels. Please vote Yes on Measure N. REV. JERALD STINSON Senior Minister, First Congregational Church of Long Beach DR. SUJA LOWENTHAL Long Beach City Councilmember STEVEN SARINANA Owner/Trebor Nevets THE REV. GARY COMMINS Rector, St. Luke's Episcopal Church HILDA ORTIZ Small Business Owner