Hotel workers are the backbone of southern California's tourism industry — without them, corporate bosses wouldn't be able to provide any accommodation services to those visiting the region. Despite these employees' significance, more than half say they've had to relocate to different cities as their wages aren't keeping pace with housing costs. Unions are asking for the bare minimum at an extremely challenging time for the workforce.
California has one of the worst income inequality problems in the US, which won't be solved by periodic calls for wage bumps. The liberal state complains about wages while simultaneously imposing restrictions on residential construction. If California wants to lower housing costs, it should incentivize development in non-urban hubs so that supply can catch up to demand and workers don't have to commute for hours into the city.