Hotel Industry Vows to Fight Minimum Wage Increases

The hotel industry, desirous of holding back the tide that calls for raising the minimum wage, says it plans to fight state-by-state. The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), which includes hotel chains such as Best Western International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts and Marriott International, said it plans to:

lead the charge to beat back the growing emergence of extreme minimum and living wage initiatives that are proven job-killers and ultimately hurt those who are building successful careers from the entry level.

Barack Obama and his minions have been pushing for a federal minimum wage increase, and most of the movement supporting an increase has been occurring at the state level.

In 2013 there were numerous fast-food restaurant strikes, endorsed by unions; and Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and 34 states passed legislation to raise the minimum wage.

The AH&LA said it wants to enlighten “Congress and the public on the job-killing effects of living wage hikes and the proven track record of upward mobility in the lodging industry.” It also wants to change “the Affordable Care Act’s definition of a full-time employee definition from 30 to 40 hours” of work per week.

Katherine Lugar, the AH&LA’s president and CEO, has increased the money for the organization’s lobbying from $1.2 million in 2012 to $1.3 million in 2013.

There is another issue that the AH&LA is pushing Congress to adopt: immigration reform.  As Glenn Haussman, Hotel Interactive’s Editor In Chief, noted:

Shawn McBurney, Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs with AHLA said personal involvement matters. “You have to step up engage and do it now. Members of Congress listen.” McBurney suggested working with other local business leaders to call for a meeting with your local representative. Or attend one of the representatives Town Hall meetings scheduled for this month. McBurney said to let representatives know the status quo is not acceptable and you expect them to lead and get something done. “Let them know this is important to your business.”

Haussman also noted that Chuck Schumer, (D-NY) said, “With this [immigration bill] tourists will go way up and they will stay at your establishments. The work the association [AHLA] has done in this bill is not only good for your industry but good for the country. Our immigration system is broken. Our problem is that you have a good number of people against the bill because they do not know what is in it. They say it’s amnesty [for currently illegal residents], it is not.”