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Big hotels in Los Angeles will soon be required to pay at least $15.37 an hour to their workers – one of the highest minimum wage requirements in the country.

The City Council voted 12 to 3 on Wednesday to impose the wage requirements on large hotels, handing a major victory to organized labor and a defeat to business groups. Lawmakers said the measure would pull thousands of hotel workers out of poverty, helping them provide for their families.

“We will change lives by increasing what people are making,” said Councilman Paul Koretz.

Councilman Bernard C. Parks spoke against the measure, saying wage initiatives should not be “just for a specific union or industry or business.” He said his South Los Angeles district cannot afford to see more workers lose their jobs.

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