A coalition of Los Angeles hospitals and other health facilities launched a campaign on Tuesday to repeal a newly enacted ordinance boosting the minimum wage for thousands of healthcare workers to $25 per hour, saying the law will have a harmful effect on medical care across the city.
The No on the Unequal Pay Measure Coalition, a group sponsored by the California Assn. of Hospitals and Health Systems, said it will start gathering signatures this week for a referendum to put the wage hike question in front of voters.
To qualify the referendum for the ballot, the coalition would need to gather nearly 41,000 valid signatures from L.A. voters within 30 days. Such a move, if successful, would block the wage increase from going into effect — at least until an election to determine its fate.
The coalition acted just days after Mayor Eric Garcetti signed the measure into law. Appearing last week at a signing ceremony for the ordinance, he said the wage hike would result in better healthcare, helping hospitals and other facilities retain their workers and reduce employee turnover.
“This is going to make your industry stronger,” Garcetti told workers with Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, the union that has pushed for the wage increase.
Foes of the wage increase sharply disagree, saying it will abruptly upend the finances of the region’s healthcare facilities and jeopardize access to health services.
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