Join the Fight for Fair Wages – San Diego Workers Deserve Better!
San Diego City Council
.png)
The City Council votes Tuesday, September 16 — Add your name NOW!
The tourism industry has dropped nearly $1.5 million into a campaign to block modest raises for the workers who keep their businesses running.
Why? Because they’d rather spend money fighting workers than pay them fairly.
Major hotel chains and corporate event companies—many headquartered outside San Diego—are raking in record profits. CEOs are earning millions. Shareholders are getting richer. Tourists are pouring in. And the workers who clean the rooms, serve the meals, park the cars, and staff the venues? Still making poverty wages in one of the most expensive cities in the country.
We see their strategy clearly: extract wealth from our city while forcing workers to live in poverty—and then cry wolf when asked to pay a decent wage.
We’re done with that.
The Solution is Clear
The Hospitality Minimum Wage Ordinance, authored by Councilmember Sean Elo‑Rivera, would raise the minimum wage to $25/hour for hotel, janitorial, event center, and other tourism-related workers across our city.
This is not just about wages—it’s about dignity, respect, and justice for the workers who make San Diego a world-class destination. We are calling on the San Diego City Council to pass the Hospitality Minimum Wage Ordinance, which would:
✅ Raise the minimum wage to $25 per hour for entertainment, hospitality, and janitorial workers in the tourism sector.
✅ Ensure annual increases tied to the cost of living, so wages keep pace with the high cost of living.
✅ Hold billionaire corporations accountable for paying San Diego workers what they deserve.
We’ve Built Major Momentum
-
The ordinance passed unanimously out of the City Council’s Select Committee on Addressing the Cost of Living
-
Hundreds of workers have shared their stories and spoken out
-
Community groups, small businesses, and labor unions are rallying in support
-
Local and regional media outlets are covering the growing movement
Why This Matters:
➡️ San Diego’s cost of living is out of control. A single worker needs to earn $30.71 per hour just to afford basic necessities. A family of four needs more than $53 per hour to survive. Meanwhile, many hotel and tourism workers earn far below what’s needed to live in our city.
➡️ The tourism industry’s wealth is built on working people’s labor. Tourists spent $14.3 billion in San Diego last year, fueling massive profits for hotel chains and corporate CEOs. Yet the workers who clean the rooms, serve the meals, and maintain the venues are left behind.
➡️ Other cities are already taking action. Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Anaheim have raised wages for tourism workers. San Diego must follow suit or risk falling further behind in treating workers with dignity and respect.
We cannot allow billionaire corporations to extract wealth from our working families while the very people who make the industry run are forced into poverty. It’s time to stand up, fight back, and demand fair wages!
On Tuesday, September 16, the City Council will vote.
This is our chance to show that San Diego chooses people over profits, and that we believe no one who works full-time should struggle to live in the city they serve.
Add your name to demand a San Diego that works for everyone—not just corporations.
Take Action Now!
- Sign the petition to show our elected leaders that San Diego stands with its workers and their families.
- Share this petition with your friends, family, and co-workers. Every signature strengthens our movement!
- Join us at the City Council hearing on September 16th!
San Diego’s working families and residents deserve better. The billionaire corporations won’t do the right thing on their own. We have to demand it. Sign the petition today and help us win this fight!
Petition by
To:
San Diego City Council
From:
[Your Name]
San Diego’s tourism industry thrives because of the hard work of hotel housekeepers, janitors, event staff, amusement park workers, and so many others. These workers are essential to our economy, and they deserve wages that reflect the cost of living in our city.
I strongly support Councilmember Sean Elo‑Rivera’s Hospitality Minimum Wage Ordinance to raise the minimum wage to $25/hour for tourism and hospitality workers.
This is a matter of fairness, dignity, and keeping San Diego livable for the people who make it work. I urge you to vote YES on this ordinance and stand with working families—not corporate profits.
Let’s make San Diego a city where no one who works full-time has to struggle to survive.