THE 2023-2024 CONTRACT FIGHT

Since the pandemic, the region’s largest economic engine, the tourism industry, is celebrating record profits while hospitality workers are overworked, fighting to stay housed and alive. In 2023 workers had the opportunity to reclaim the right to live and work in their community. 

UNITE HERE Local 11 lined up over 60 contracts to expire this year, with the goal to lift the low standards of service workers, as the city of Los Angeles prepares for the World Cup (2026) and the Olympics (2028). We are ready to welcome millions to the region, and we intend to seize the moment to ensure our place in the economic boom headed our way.

It was nearly a year-long fight, but through the strike we won unprecedented contracts that have changed the lives of thousands of hotel workers.

PRE-GRAMMY PARTY: Rat Allegations Soil Influencer Favorite W Hollywood Hotel

Los Angeles–Dozens of cooks, room attendants, dishwashers, servers, bellmen, and front desk agents from across the LA area will stage an action outside of the Sky Terrace at W Hollywood. Workers and supporters will wear rat costumes and related props while the restaurant’s soft launch takes place.

The action will draw attention to workers’ allegations, as reported in the LA Times last December, that they have repeatedly observed what appeared to be rats in the dry food storage room of the Hotel’s basement and on the building’s rooftop Sky Terrace restaurant, both operated by Mosaic. Workers documented alleged rodent sightings as recently as mid-October of 2023. Concerned for their health and safety, workers submitted a complaint to Cal/OSHA on November 16, 2023 and requested that their employer take action. The complaint with Cal/OSHA remains pending investigation.

The Sky Terrace is located on the rooftop of the W Hotel building. Both the W Hollywood Hotel, operated by Marriott, and Sky Terrace, operated by Mosaic, have been embroiled in protracted labor disputes with their employees since union contract expired last summer. The Sky Terrace is also the subject of pending unfair labor practice charges filed by workers after the restaurant fired eight employees who had participated in the campaign for improved wages and working conditions.

Workers across Los Angeles hotels have been in an ongoing labor dispute with hotel employers since July, fighting for better wages and working conditions in what has become the largest hotel worker strike in modern history. The workers’ primary contract goals include wage increases to keep pace with the soaring cost of housing in Los Angeles, quality and affordable health insurance, a pension to retire with dignity, and humane workloads.

The W Hollywood building is owned by private equity firms Oaktree Capital Management and Trinity Investments. Los Angeles-based Oaktree, which has $189 billion under management, states on its website that “Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) considerations directly and materially impact investment outcomes,” but has failed to resolve the escalating labor disputes at the W Hollywood and Sky Terrace.

PRESS RELEASE: With New Hotel License Requirement Looming, UNITE HERE Local 11 Raises Alleged Worker Rights Violations at Carpenters Union Fund-Owned Hyatt Regency LAX with LA Police Commission

Los Angeles: The Carpenters pension fund-owned Hyatt Regency LAX may be at risk of being unable to obtain an operating license required by the Los Angeles Responsible Hotels Ordinance.  The hospitality workers’ union, UNITE HERE Local 11, has sent a letter to the Los Angeles Police Commission to inform it of allegations of worker rights violations at the Hyatt Regency LAX, which is owned by the Southwest Carpenters Pension Fund.

The Hyatt Regency LAX is owned by the Southwest Carpenters Pension Fund, and the trustees of this pension fund include leaders of the Carpenters Union. The hotel is operated by Aimbridge Hospitality. The occupy action comes on the heels of UNITE HERE Local 11’s call for a boycott of Aimbridge Hospitality properties in Southern California, which includes the Hyatt Regency LAX, among others, known as “Shamebridge”.

The Police Commission is responsible for considering license applications from hotel operators under the Ordinance’s new hotel permitting scheme. Permits may be denied based on findings of violations of worker rights.

Housekeeping workers at the Hyatt Regency LAX have alleged that the Hotel is not in compliance with the Los Angeles Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance, which is among the “local employment laws” that employers must comply with in order to obtain an operating permit under the new licensing regime. In particular, workers have alleged that the Hotel is not complying with the workload provisions of the Ordinance, which ensure fair pay for burdensome workloads. Room attendants report that, with room quotas of 14 rooms a day, they believe they regularly clean more than 3,500 square feet per shift but are not paid the double pay the Ordinance requires of hotels that assign such heavy workloads.

The letters asked the Board of Police Commissioners to consider the alleged noncompliance with the Ordinance and to monitor any potential investigations or claims into consideration in evaluating the permit applications of the hotel.

Workers across Los Angeles hotels have been in an ongoing labor dispute with hotel employers since July, and while numerous tentative contract agreements have been reached across Los Angeles and Orange County since November, Hyatt Regency LAX and Aimbridge Hospitality have consistently refused to meet the new hotel contract standards.

The workers’ primary contract goals include wage increases to keep pace with the soaring cost of housing in Los Angeles, quality and affordable health insurance, a pension to retire with dignity, and humane workloads. Workers are demanding that Aimbridge and the Hyatt-operated properties sign the standard-setting agreement, which 30 other hotels across the region have agreed to.

Fairmont Miramar Reaches Historic Union Agreement; Strikes Continue at other Santa Monica Hotels

Santa Monica: After six months of strikes and picket lines, the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows is the latest hotel to sign a tentative agreement with UNITE HERE Local 11.

With this latest announcement, a total of 25 Southern California hotels have now signed tentative agreements with the union.

“We’re excited and proud to have reached an agreement at our hotel,” says Fairmont Miramar worker Liliana Hernandez, who has been a housekeeper at the hotel for eleven years. “The last six months were challenging for us, but I am so grateful that the whole union stood behind me and my coworkers, and I’m proud of the leadership and solidarity. We hope other Santa Monica hotels follow the example of the Fairmont. Sí se puede.”

Once the contract is ratified, Fairmont Miramar workers will enjoy the standard achieved in the previous tentative agreements, including:

  • Unprecedented wage increases that keep pace with the soaring cost of housing
  • Affordable, excellent family healthcare
  • Humane workloads and safe staffing
  • Improved pension increases so that workers can retire with dignity
  • Language improvements, including Equal Justice language that, among other things, will help to provide access to union jobs for formerly incarcerated individuals and unprecedented protections for immigrant workers.

“We applaud the Fairmont Miramar for signing this historic agreement,” said UNITE HERE Local 11 co-president, Kurt Petersen. “This victory once again demonstrates our members’ indomitable spirit and sends an unambiguous message to the remaining hotels that we will not stop fighting until we have won a living wage at all hotels.”

Other hotels operated by Aimbridge Hospitality, such as the Hilton Pasadena, Blackstone-owned Aloft and Fairfield El Segundo, and Ensemble-operated Hotel Maya and Hyatt Place Pasadena, continue to refuse to meet the new hotel contract standard. Dozens of workers at the Hilton Pasadena and Hyatt Place Pasadena walked out on the eve of the Rose Parade.

4 More! InterContinental DTLA, Hotel Indigo DTLA, Sheraton Gateway, E Central Sign Historic Agreements with UNITE HERE Local 11

Next strike wave targets Rose Bowl as pressure builds for Aimbridge Hospitality-operated hotels and Ensemble-operated Hotel Maya

Los Angeles: On the heels of last week’s streak of 9 Marriotts and 1 more Hilton hotel agreeing to a standard setting contract, the InterContinental Downtown Los Angeles, Hotel Indigo DTLA, E-Central DTLA and the Sheraton Gateway LAX are now the latest to sign tentative agreements with UNITE HERE Local 11.

With this latest announcement, a total of 24 Southern California hotels have now signed agreements with UNITE HERE Local 11.

Diana Sanchez, housekeeping supervisor at the InterContinental Downtown Los Angeles, said, “We had a party in the cafeteria this morning. We are stronger today than when we first went out on strike. But we also know that this fight is not over until all hotel workers win this historic agreement.”

Once the contract is ratified, the workers at the properties will enjoy the standard achieved in the previous tentative agreements, including:

  • Unprecedented wage increases that keep pace with the soaring cost of housing
  • Affordable, excellent family healthcare
  • Humane workloads and safe staffing
  • Improved pension increases so that workers can retire with dignity
  • Language improvements, including Equal Justice language that, among other things, will help to provide access to union jobs for formerly incarcerated individuals and unprecedented protections for immigrant workers.

“We applaud the 24 hotels that have reached settlements. But we are disgusted with greedy private equity hotel owners like Aimbridge and Blackstone that are focused on profits rather than the welfare of their workers and the reputation of our city,”said Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11. “If they want to prolong this dispute, we have no choice but to strike during the Rose Bowl festivities.”

Other hotels operated by Aimbridge Hospitality like Hilton Pasadena, and Ensemble-operated Hotel Maya and Hyatt Place Pasadena continue to refuse to meet the new hotel contract standard. Pasadena is home to the Rose Bowl and Rose Parade, which take place on January 1, 2024. The escalating labor dispute will impact guests during these events if an agreement is not reached before then.

FOUR MORE VICTORIES

WE ARE WINNING!

BREAKING NEWS: Major Breakthrough! Nine Marriott Hotels and One More Hilton Sign Agreements, Doubling Total to Twenty in Less than A Week

Los Angeles: More than 1700 housekeepers, cooks, dishwashers, servers, and front desk workers at nine Marriott hotels – Irvine Marriott, W Hotel Westwood, SLS Beverly Hills, Westin LAX, Sheraton Grand DTLA, JW Marriott LA Live, Ritz-Carlton LA Live, Courtyard Marriott DTLA, and Residence Inn DTLA – and Hilton Irvine are the latest to sign tentative agreements. The W Hollywood is the lone Marriott not included because of outstanding contract issues there.

Brenda Mendoza, a uniform attendant at the JW Marriott LA Live said, “I am incredibly proud that my coworkers and I fought for this life-changing contract. Our hard work and dedication to each other paid off.”

Once the contract is ratified, the workers at the nine Marriott hotels and the Hilton Irvine will enjoy the same standard achieved in the previous tentative agreements, including:

  • Unprecedented wage increases that keep pace with the soaring cost of housing
  • Affordable, excellent family healthcare
  • Humane workloads and safe staffing
  • Improved pension increases so that workers can retire with dignity
  • Language improvements, including historic Equal Justice language that, among other things, will help to provide access to union jobs for formerly incarcerated individuals and unprecedented protections for immigrant workers.

With this latest announcement, a total of twenty Southern California hotels have now signed agreements with UNITE HERE Local 11. While Marriott and some Hilton hotels have led the way, other operators like Aimbridge Hospitality continue to refuse to meet the new hotel contract standard. In response, workers at the Aimbridge-operated Sheraton Park walked out on strike Wednesday, and several others could follow as early as this weekend.

“If the world’s largest hotel companies, Marriott and Hilton, agreed to raise the standard for hotel workers, what makes other hoteliers such as the Maya in Long Beach or Aimbridge Hospitality think their workers will accept anything less? Our members are more determined today to win a living wage than the first day of this historic strike. Nothing will stop them,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11.

WE ARE WINNING!