Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy

Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy is a Los Angeles–based community organizing group that advocates for worker rights, living wages, and neighborhood investment through coalition building with labor unions, civic organizations, and faith groups. Founded amid urban redevelopment debates in the late 20th century, the organization has engaged with campaigns involving major employers, municipal officials, and private developers to influence public policy and private-sector practices. It operates at intersections with tenant associations, transit initiatives, and regional planning efforts, frequently collaborating with national and international partners.

History

The organization emerged in the context of debates over redevelopment projects such as the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority expansions, Staples Center–era downtown revitalization, and Port of Los Angeles globalization, aligning with groups like Service Employees International Union, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, LAANE (Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy) allies, and local congregations to contest privatization and corporate subsidies. Early campaigns intersected with controversies involving developers linked to Aegis Living, Forest City Enterprises, and municipal administrations led by figures such as Tom Bradley and Richard Riordan, while engaging with municipal bodies like the Los Angeles City Council and regulatory entities including the California Coastal Commission and California Public Utilities Commission. Over time the group partnered with national networks such as Good Jobs First, National Employment Law Project, and international movements influenced by Solidarity Economy advocates and La Via Campesina–aligned community scholars.

Mission and Programs

Its stated mission has focused on securing living wages, affordable housing, and accountable development through programs that link workplace organizing with neighborhood campaigns, often aligning with unions such as UNITE HERE, United Steelworkers, and International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Programmatically, the organization has advanced living wage ordinances in coordination with municipal officials from administrations like Antonio Villaraigosa and Eric Garcetti, pushed for community benefits agreements involving developers linked to projects resembling L.A. Live and Hollywood and Highland, and supported transit-oriented development discussions related to projects by Metrolink and the Metro B Line. It runs research and policy units that reference studies from institutions like the Brookings Institution, UCLA, and USC urban centers to inform campaigns on wage theft, tenant protections, and procurement standards.

Campaigns and Advocacy

Notable campaigns include efforts to secure living wage commitments from employers such as hotel chains comparable to Hilton Worldwide, Marriott International, and Wyndham Hotels and Resorts; campaigns around airport concessions similar to disputes at Los Angeles International Airport; and advocacy tied to public incentives used by entities like Los Angeles World Airports and redevelopment agencies modeled after past actions by the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles. The group has coordinated ballot measure strategies akin to those used in fights over Measure S (2017) style initiatives, engaged with coalitions during labor disputes involving employers similar to McDonald's Corporation and Walmart, and participated in broader platforms alongside organizations such as Dreamers advocacy groups, California Labor Federation, and community land trust proponents associated with The Trust for Public Land and Enterprise Community Partners.

Organizational Structure and Funding

The organization is structured with a leadership team, membership committees, and collaborative partnerships with institutions including faith-based actors like The Episcopal Church, advocacy networks like People's Action, and research partners at universities such as UCLA School of Law and USC Price School of Public Policy. Funding sources have included foundation grants from entities in the vein of the Ford Foundation, James Irvine Foundation, and California Endowment, as well as support from labor-affiliated funds and individual donors connected to philanthropic networks such as Tides Foundation and Open Society Foundations. Its governance practices interact with nonprofit compliance frameworks like those overseen by the California Attorney General and filing regimes at the Internal Revenue Service.

Impact and Criticism

Supporters credit the group with influencing living wage policies, shaping community benefits agreements for major developments, and contributing to tenant protection measures advanced in collaboration with organizations like Los Angeles Tenants Union and California Tenants, while producing research cited by municipal staff, think tanks such as Urban Institute, and academic centers at UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Critics—ranging from business coalitions like Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and development firms analogous to Lendlease to some elected officials—argue that its demands can deter investment, increase project costs, or complicate public-private partnerships, echoing disputes seen in cases involving entities such as Related Companies and controversies around tax increment financing used by agencies like the former Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles. Debates over accountability, transparency, and the balance between pro-worker platforms and growth-oriented policies continue to involve stakeholders including City of Los Angeles departments, legal advocates from organizations like Public Counsel, and regional planners associated with agencies such as the Southern California Association of Governments.

Category:Nonprofit organizations based in Los Angeles