Mail ballots going out for Ontario’s special election on two hospitality industry measures
Measures V and W are on the ballot for the March 24 election.
Black News 
One month from now, Ontario voters will decide on a pair of ballot measures concerning the city’s hospitality industry:
- Measure V would create a local minimum wage for hospitality workers that would rise to $30 an hour by 2030, and build in other regulations for industry workers.
- Measure W would require voter approval for major hotel and event center projects.
The two measures are the only items on the ballot for the March 24 special election. The Ontario City Council approved the special election to put both items before the voters at their Dec. 16 meeting. The special election will cost the city $1,255,000, according to a Dec. 16 report prepared for the City Council.
Mail-in ballots began going out Monday, Feb. 23.
Measure V
If approved, Measure V would require “hotel, event center, and airport hospitality employers” to begin paying workers $18 an hour, according to the proposed ordinance. After that, it would go up $3 a year every July 1 through 2030, when the pay would reach $30 an hour — in theory. But before that, starting July 1, 2029, the wage rate would increase based on Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the Los Angeles metropolitan area (Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County), published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Hotel cleaning staff would also not be required to clean more than 3,500 square feet of rooms in any eight-hour workday unless they’re paid double. And workers would also not be required to work more than 10 hours in a day without prior written consent.
The ordinance also notes the danger hotel workers in guest rooms alone sometimes face. Under Measure V, employers would be required to give each worker a personal security device that could signal an on-site security guard who would be able to provide immediate assistance. In their rebuttal to the argument in favor of Measure V — which will be included in the ballot information packets voters receive — the Ontario City Council notes that it has previously passed an ordinance to require such security devices. They also say the wage increases are “unsustainable” for many locally owned businesses.
Measure W
If approved, Measure W would overturn the City Council’s approval of a 600-room hotel associated with an expanded Ontario Convention Center and require voter approval for major hotel and event center projects in the future, according to the proposed ordinance.
In their ballot argument supporting the measure, proponents say the measure “is about transparency, accountability, and responsible growth. Especially when public land and public dollars are involved, residents deserve clear information and a direct say.” Opponents, in their argument, say Measure W “could destroy job-creating construction projects” and “reduce tax revenue that could lead to cuts in essential services like public safety, road maintenance, libraries and parks, and community events.”Both Measure V and W were initiated by the national labor union Unite Here. A measure similar to Ontario’s Measure V was voted down by Anaheim voters in 2023.
At their Feb. 17 meeting, the Ontario City Council voted to cancel the June 2 local election, which would have featured two ballot initiatives related to Measure W, after Unite Here reportedly asked to withdraw them from the ballot.
