Elected officials in Los Angeles, Long Beach and other California communities have declared that they want to honor essential workers by requiring employers to provide up to $5 an hour in supplemental “hero pay” for the next several months. But not all essential workers are heroes in eyes of local lawmakers, apparently, as the proposals would exclude the vast majority of front-line employees.
The notion is catching on. The Santa Monica City Council voted last week to require “hero pay,” and Long Beach leaders are expected to vote on a similar proposal this week. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is expected to finalize its version this month. A number of other jurisdictions, including the cities of Los Angeles and Santa Ana, have raised the idea, too.
Council approves priority service enhancements
Feb. 03, 2021 at 6:00 am
COVID-19 has taken hold of the Santa Monica economy, but city leaders said they will continue to enhance community services despite diminishing revenues.
During a Mid-Year Budget Report presented last Tuesday, City staff recommended the elimination of five vacant police officer positions so funding could be diverted to fund additional hours for library staffing, homeless service coordination, code enforcement efforts, a tenant counseling pilot program, as well as a new 3-1-1 customer service call line.
In June 2020, Santa Monica City Council opted to fully fund the Santa Monica Police Department during a budget decision that resulted in layoffs to librarians, planners, traffic engineers and a number of other City positions. Officials said at the time they intended to alter SMPD’s finances in the “near future” since they didn’t want to make a hasty decision before hearing specific proposals from the pu
As local governments look to enact hazard pay rules for grocery workers, businesses are pushing back, saying the extra pay is too costly to sustain. Kroger on Monday blamed its decision to close a Ralphs supermarket and a Food 4 Less in Long Beach on a hazard pay measure.
Grocery stores, which have served as a lifeline during the pandemic, are now at the center of an increasingly bitter political battle as labor unions and politicians fight to secure hazard pay for workers who have kept the businesses going.
Labor groups scored a victory Tuesday, when Los Angeles became the largest city in the nation to back a proposal requiring grocery stores to temporarily pay workers an extra $5 an hour.
The raises also called “hero pay” have become a hot issue in progressive cities in California and beyond, with backers saying grocery workers have put their health at risk to serve customers as COVID-19 has spread. There have been numerous outbreaks at supermarkets and other retailers, with workers getting sick and in some cases spreading the coronavirus to family members.
Fast Food Ban passes second reading
Feb. 01, 2021 at 6:00 am
Fast food restaurants are once again prohibited in the Third Street Promenade, but Santa Monica’s Planning Commission still hopes for renewed discussion on the ordinance some time in 2021.
Santa Monica City Council retroactively reestablished an Interim Zoning Ordinance last Tuesday that was previously passed in Nov. 2018 to prevent the proliferation of fast food restaurants on the Promenade.
The ordinance defines a fast-food restaurant as a place where orders are taken at a walk-up window, counter or machine; payment is completed prior to food consumption; and food is served with disposable, one-time, or limited-use wrapping, containers, or utensils; and also banned restaurants and cafes that have more than 150 domestic locations.