Our Vision and History
Our Vision
The Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE) is an organizing and advocacy institution committed to economic, environmental, and racial justice. We bridge community and labor power to win policies that improve the lives of working families in Los Angeles and in Long Beach. Our vision is to help build a new economy rooted in good jobs, thriving communities, and a healthy environment for all. We fight for change through community organizing, building community and labor coalitions, research, communications, and policy work.
Economic Justice
We are committed to creating good jobs with family-sustaining wages and strong benefits for all.
Environmental Justice
We are committed to creating a cleaner, safer environment for all, and to centering frontline communities and workers in the fight for climate justice.
Racial Justice
We are committed to creating an inclusive progressive movement to advance racial justice and equity for all.
We believe these three areas of work intersect and that we must work to make improvements in all, simultaneously. As part of this work, we believe in the power of building leaders — both LAANE staff and community activists — to fight for change.
Celebrating 30 Years of Building an Economy that Works for Everyone
In honor of LAANE’s 30th anniversary in 2023, our founding visionaries, advisors, and community partners came together to remember the early days of LAANE and the building of a powerful progressive labor movement in Los Angeles. They also reflected on our shared future, including the new and perennial challenges of fighting for an equitable city for all.
Our History: A Partial Timeline
Below is a selection of milestones achieved alongside our union and community partners:
1993: LAANE is founded
1997: Los Angeles Living Wage
This policy generated economic improvements for 22,000 people, totaling $186 million over the first decade. One of the first such laws in the country, it inspired dozens of statutes across the nation.
2004: LAX Community Benefits Program
This groundbreaking agreement secured $500 million in environmental and job training benefits for residents affected by the expansion of LAX.
2007: Century Boulevard Hotel Living Wage
This landmark law mandated a living wage, worker retention and tip protection policy for 3,500 workers employed in 13 major hotels.
2008: Port of LA Clean Truck Program
This EPA award-winning project reduced truck emissions near the Port of L.A. by 90% while drastically improving air quality for residents and wages for truck drivers.
2008-2013: Construction Careers
This series of policies created 57,000 good jobs, generated $129 million in economic benefits and linked construction projects to good jobs for underserved communities.
2011: RePower LA
This campaign led to lower energy bills for 50,000 customers, 160,000 fewer tons of CO2 in the atmosphere, and hundreds of good jobs while putting the country’s largest publicly owned utility on a new path toward energy efficiency.
2013: Zero Waste LA
This policy transformed LA’s waste hauling system by increasing recycling, strengthening environmental protections, and improving working conditions.
2014: Raise LA
This law set a living wage of at least $15.37 an hour for hotel workers in Los Angeles, the highest minimum wage in the country at the time.
2015: L.A. Minimum Wage Increase
This historic wage increase raised the minimum wage in the City and County of Los Angeles to $15 by 2020.
2016: LADWP Community Solar
This pilot program provides rooftop solar panels to low-income families in Los Angeles while also creating new, good-paying installation jobs.
2018: Regulation of Short-Term Rentals
This policy regulates short-term rentals to protect affordable housing and neighborhoods.
2018: Long Beach Measure WW
Measure WW protects working women in Long Beach hotels from sexual harassment and abuse as well as excessive workloads.
2018: Los Angeles County Measure W
Measure W funds infrastructure to capture and clean storm water across Los Angeles County, making the region more resilient to climate change.
2021: Expanded Worker Protections
The passage of three state bills protects frontline supply chain workers by protecting port drivers from predatory leasing and wage theft and protecting warehouse workers from unsafe speed quotas.
2021: Community Schools
The unanimous support by the LAUSD School Board for Reclaim Our Schools L.A.’s Community School Initiative ensures that students receive a well-rounded education.
2022: Upgrading Water Systems
LAANE helped win significant commitments in the state budget to upgrade water systems for drought resilience by investing in local projects like water recycling, stormwater, and efficiency.
2022-2024: Fair Work Week Policy
The passage of the Fair Work Week Policy by the City of Los Angeles in 2022, then by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 2024, brought critical scheduling benefits and on-the-job protections to over 75,000 retail workers.
2024: Long Beach Measure RW
Measure RW guarantees Long Beach hotel workers the highest minimum wage in the nation, raising workers' wages to $23/hour by July 20, 2024 with an escalator to $29.50/hr by the 2028 Olympics.