Keep up with LAist.

If you’re enjoying this article, you’ll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.

When Airbnb recently launched its campaign to drum up support for more short-term rentals in Los Angeles, it said the effort would produce taxes that would help solve the city’s budget crisis and save city employees’ jobs.

But labor organizations are split on the effort that’s being pushed by the so-called “Save Our Services” coalition, which is touted as being community-based but whose spokesperson is an Airbnb representative. The coalition proposes loosening an L.A. law to allow a limited number of people to rent out second homes as vacation rentals. Currently, the city limits short-term rentals to primary residences.

The campaign first drew attention for what it didn’t say: The effort was funded and organized by Airbnb. As first reported by the L.A. Times, the coalition’s website advertised union endorsements and other business and community supporters even before Airbnb added its own name to the list.

Justin Wesson, Airbnb’s senior public policy manager, cited saving union jobs as a goal when explaining why the company launched the campaign.

“It’s pretty simple: New tax revenue from tourists can give Los Angeles much-needed funding for city services and union jobs that are at risk,” Wesson said in a statement earlier this month.

Kurt Petersen, co-president of hotel workers union Unite Here Local 11 and an opponent of the campaign, was quick to point out that Wesson used to work as chief of staff for the L.A. County Federation of Labor.

“Obviously he’s going through his Rolodex and seeing who he can get to back this absurd measure,” Petersen said.

“Save Our Services” canvassers have knocked on more than 300,000 doors across Los Angeles over the past month, according to an Airbnb spokesperson.

How city unions are responding

There’s no consensus among unions that represent city workers about the campaign.

Endorsements for Airbnb’s effort include IBEW Local 18, which represents workers at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. That union did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

But other prominent city unions say they’re against the effort, citing high housing costs for their members.

“Our union sees this for what it is: just the latest attempt by Airbnb to further deregulate short-term rentals and exacerbate the ever-worsening affordable housing crisis in Los Angeles,” said Mike Long, the communications director for SEIU 721, which represents around 11,000 city sanitation workers, mechanics, traffic officers, and other workers.

What about the union jobs claim?

The “Save Our Services” campaign launched as L.A. has been facing a budget crisis.

Mayor Karen Bass’s 2025-2026 budget originally proposed more than 1,600 city staff layoffs, citing a nearly billion dollar shortfall. That number dropped to around 600 in budget revisions and is now down to 75 after negotiations with labor leaders and the city council, according to the mayor’s office.

Roy Samaan, president of Engineers & Architects Association, the labor union for around 6,000 city planners, accountants, and other staff, said his union had managed to make an agreement with the city to take layoffs off the table. He claimed Airbnb had not reached out to ask for the union’s support for its campaign, calling the coalition’s language around the city’s recent budget shortfall “opportunistic.”

“They’re taking up the fact that we almost had such disastrous layoffs as a cover for this,” Samaan said. “It’s a little bit frustrating, to be totally frank.”

As of Thursday evening, the “Save Our Services” coalition website still said the city was planning to lay off more than 600 workers.

“The mayor is committed to protecting city services and is working urgently to continue momentum in decreasing layoffs to zero,” Zach Seidl, the mayor’s spokesperson, said in a written statement.

What are other unions saying?

Other labor supporters listed on the “Save Our Services” website and flyers include California IATSE Council, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, and several Teamsters backers, including the international union, the Teamsters National Black Caucus, Teamsters Joint Council 42, and Teamsters Local 911 — a union local that no longer exists as an independent entity.

Before Airbnb’s publicly campaign was announced, Teamsters 911 merged into another local — Teamsters Local 986 — in June, according to a press release from that union. That merged local is not listed on the coalition’s website and did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Airbnb also did not respond to questions about the Teamsters Local 911 endorsement

Representatives for IATSE, which represents entertainment workers, declined to comment. Teamsters Joint Council 42 and IUPAT did not respond to direct inquiries, but both groups provided brief written statements through an Airbnb spokesperson.

“Los Angeles cannot cut its way out of a $1 billion budget deficit at the expense of Angelenos,” said Eric Tate, executive secretary treasurer with Teamsters Joint Council 42 in the statement. “We strongly urge the Los Angeles leaders to pass the ‘Save Our Services’ proposal now.” Robert Smith, director of government affairs of IUPAT District Council 36 in Southern California also offered support for Airbnb’s plan.

“The [vacation rental revenue] plan is a practical solution that limits the number of new accommodations for travelers while creating millions in new annual revenue for L.A.’s long-term recovery,” he said in a statement.

One of Airbnb’s biggest foes in this showdown is Unite Here Local 11, which last week launched its own campaign for a “New Deal” for the 2028 Olympic Games, calling for major investment in new housing units and a moratorium on Airbnb.

Petersen, that union’s co-president, told LAist the Airbnb campaign was “ a corrupt scheme of stupidity and greed.”

Airbnb’s Justin Wesson fired back.

“Airbnb has brought together groups like the NAACP, Community Build, and the Teamsters as L.A. faces yet another crisis,” he said. “Referring to this coalition as ‘stupid’ or ‘greedy’ shows exactly how out of touch Unite Here leadership is. We’ll stay focused on helping to close the city’s budget gap.”

The Federation of Labor did not respond to multiple requests for comment.