FIVE MORE WINS! AGAIN!

A collage of group photos showing hotel workers celebrating at the Le Meridien Delfina, the Viceroy, the Sheraton Four Points LAX, the Courtyard by Marriott Santa Monica and the Hampton Inn & Suites Santa Monica

PRESS RELEASE: FIVE MORE! Including Viceroy, Le Méridien Delfina, Hampton Inn, and Courtyard Santa Monica Sign with UNITE HERE Local 11, Raising the Total to 46 Agreements

Hotels operated by Aimbridge Hospitality and the Hotel Figueroa remain focal points of labor dispute

Santa Monica, Calif.: Today, workers at the Hampton Inn Santa Monica, Courtyard Santa Monica, Viceroy Santa Monica, Le Méridien Delfina, and the Sheraton Four Points LAX became the latest hotels to sign the historic accord agreeing to the life-changing wages, benefits and other historic protections.

A group of two dozen hotel housekeepers in blue uniforms smile and raise their arms in victory as they learn about their new union contracts

The five new agreements come on the heels of seven others reached earlier this week, for a total of 46 settled contracts. In the past week, the Proper Santa Monica, Hotel Maya in Long Beach, Hyatt Place Pasadena, Proper Downtown Los Angeles, Westdrift Manhattan Beach, Hotel June West LA, and Alsace Hotel also signed.

A group of a dozen hotel workers smile and raise their arms in victory in front of a wall that reads "Viceroy"

Patricia Ibañez, a UNITE HERE Local 11 leader and housekeeper of 17 years at Le Méridien Delfina in Santa Monica said, “I am so proud of my coworkers for sticking together through this fight. It took grit, blood, sweat and tears, but we did it! I am excited to go back to my job after being suspended. The immense support I received from my coworkers and other community members inspired me to never give up. This is going to change my life.”

Dozens of hotel workers gather in the lobby of the Sheraton Four Points to celebrate winning a new union contract

The new contract has the largest economic increases of any industry-wide contract in the last 30 years.

  • $5.00 an hour raise in the first year; workers will have $10,400 more to pay for rent, to feed their families
  • 40 to 50% wage increases for non tipped workers over the 4.5 year term of the agreement
  • Most room attendants will earn $35.00 an hour by July 1, 2027
  • Guaranteed pre-pandemic staffing levels and mandatory daily room cleaning
  • One of the highest paid pension plans for service workers in nation
  • 50 pages of improvements, including Juneteenth as a paid holiday, unprecedented language for the fair treatment of workers impacted by the criminal justice system and protections of immigrant rights.

The contract will expire January 15, 2028, just before the world turns its attention on Los Angeles for the XXXIV Olympiad.

Hotel workers gather with balloons at the Hampton Inn Santa Monica

More than 10,000 workers at 52 hotels have struck 170 times so far in the largest strike in the history of the nation’s hospitality industry.

A group of hotel smile and pose in front of the Courtyard by Marriott

The membership has resolved to continue striking and boycotting until all hotels, including the Hotel Figueroa, all of the boycotted Aimbridge properties like the Doubletree Downtown Los Angeles that have not yet signed, and the LA Grand, the site of the city-operated Inside Safe Program.

CONGRATULATIONS MAYA WORKERS!

BERNIE SANDERS AT HOTEL FIGUEROA

“All you are asking for is justice, you work hard and want fair compensation. I just want to tell you that you are part of a growing movement in this country. So the message of today is that we are sick and tired of the greed of corporate America, workers deserve a decent life, and this union deserves a decent contract.” Senator Bernie Sanders

TWO MORE WINS!

7 New Hotels, Including Hotel Maya Long Beach, Sign with UNITE HERE Local 11, Raising the Total to 41 Agreements  

Recalcitrant Aimbridge Hospitality, Hotel Figueroa remain focal points of bitter labor dispute 

Los Angeles:  Following the Grand Prix of Long Beach, the Hotel Maya Long Beach has signed a tentative contract agreement. In the past week, the Hyatt Place Pasadena, Proper Santa Monica, Proper Downtown Los Angeles, Westdrift Manhattan Beach, Hotel June West LA, and Alsace Hotel also signed the historic accord.

UNITE HERE Local 11 and Hotel Maya issued this statement: “The Hotel Maya and UNITE HERE Local 11 are pleased to announce we have reached a fair settlement of our dispute. The settlement includes a commitment from all parties to engage in a good-faith reconciliation  process.”

The seven new agreements come at the heels of overwhelming ratification votes at 35 hotels, for a total of 41 settled contracts.

More than 10,000 workers at 52 hotels have struck 170 times so far in the largest strike in the history of the nation’s hospitality industry. Workers at five hotels struck last week and several more are set to go out this week.

The new contract has the largest economic increases of any industry-wide contract in the last 30 years.

  • $5.00 an hour raise in the first year; workers will have $10,400 more to pay for rent, to feed their families

  • 40 to 50% wage increases for non tipped workers over the 4.5 year term of the agreement

  • Most room attendants will earn $35.00 an hour by July 1, 2027

  • Guaranteed pre-pandemic staffing levels and mandatory daily room cleaning

  • One of the highest paid pension plans for service workers in nation

  • 50 pages of improvements, including Juneteenth as a paid holiday, unprecedented language for the fair treatment of workers impacted by the criminal justice system and protections of immigrant rights.

The contract will expire January 15, 2028, just before the world turns its attention on Los Angeles for the XXXIV Olympiad.

The membership has resolved to continue striking and boycotting until all hotels, including the Hotel Figueroa, all of the boycotted Aimbridge properties like the Doubletree Downtown Los Angeles, and the LA Grand, the site of the city-operated Inside Safe Program.

“My coworkers and I dealt with unthinkable violence to get to this point. We are proud that we never gave up, and we look forward to having the same standard raising benefits and protections other hotel workers now enjoy.” said Camila Delgado, Housekeeper at Hotel Maya.

“The workers at the Maya and the newly settled hotels are heroes. Despite living precariously close to being unhoused, they struck over and over without pay to win a living wage,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11.  “They have not only won a life changing agreement – an unprecedented $5.00 an hour in the 1st year – but they have given hope to all working people that when you fight, you win.  It is time for the greedy few who remain – including Hotel Figueroa and private equity titans Blackstone and Aimbridge – to sign a fair contract.”

“Congratulations to members of UNITE HERE Local 11 and Hotel Maya Long Beach on reaching a historic contract agreement that ensures hospitality workers will have the dignity of living wages and industry-leading benefits to support their families,” said Mayor Rex  Richardson, “Over the next four years, as we prepare for the 2028 Olympics and welcome visitors from around the world to our vibrant Long Beach community, we can be proud that our local tourism economy continues to thrive, while placing value on the workforce that keeps our hospitality industry running.”

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UNITE HERE Local 11 is a labor union representing more than 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona that work in hotels, restaurants, universities, convention centers and airports

GRAND PRIX STRIKE ALERT: Hotel Maya Workers Vow to Walk Out if No Deal Reached During Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

PRESS RELEASE: 04/18/2024
PRESS CONTACT: Maria Hernandez | 623-340–8047

Long Beach: Hotel Maya workers are prepared to strike during the biggest event in Long Beach, the Acura Grand Prix, if the hotel does not reach an agreement. 

“My family and I share a small apartment with two other families because we cannot afford anything else. That is why I am out here peacefully taking action, to secure a better future. We are ready to strike during the Grand Prix if we do not get a contract.” said Camila, housekeeper at Hotel Maya.

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 Ensemble Investment and its operated properties, including Hyatt Place Pasadena, sign the standard-setting agreement, which 35 other hotels across the region have agreed to. 

Workers there have been met with violence and various labor issues since they have been fighting for a contract. UNITE HERE Local 11 has raised concerns with Ensemble after a disturbing incident on December 13 outside of the hotel. According to workers, a housekeeper was participating in a peaceful picket line at the Maya Hotel with a sign and a megaphone when a man, since identified as an investor in the hotel, approached her. According to these allegations, the man grabbed and tried to yank the megaphone out of the housekeeper’s hand while yelling at her. 

The hotel workers’ union has filed federal labor charges about the incident, as well as a charge alleging the company failed to provide video footage and access to the guest registry in order to investigate.

This is not the first incidence of violence at the hotel. As is alleged in the letter, during another incident on August 5, Maya hotel security and guests attempted to use a chain link fence to forcibly relocate a group of striking workers while they peacefully picketed on a sidewalk, while a guest came around the fence and punched a worker in the head.  The worker experienced injuries and medical expenses as a result.  The attack was captured on video which has been circulated widely and reported in the press. 

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UNITE HERE Local 11 is a labor union representing more than 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona that work in hotels, restaurants, universities, convention centers and airports

CONTRACT HIGHLIGHTS

FIVE MORE WINS AFTER RATIFICATION

Photocollage of a headline from CoStar News and an image of two people holding a 6-foot-wide red banner that reads "Shamebridge"

COSTAR NEWS: Aimbridge’s New CEO Wants To Think Like Small Operator But Create Advantage With Size; Craig Smith Talks Talent Pipeline, Financials, Other Challenges

Photocollage of a headline from CoStar News and an image of two people holding a 6-foot-wide red banner that reads "Shamebridge"

Masthead of Hotel Dive with a headline that reads "Workers strike at Aimbridge-operated hotels in SoCal"

HOTEL DIVE: Workers strike at Aimbridge-operated hotels in SoCal

Masthead of Hotel Dive and headline of an article titled "Workers strike at Aimbridge-operated hotels in SoCal" dated 4-12-2024

Hotel workers picket outside the Holiday Inn LAX

PRESS ADVISORY: Workers at Hilton Pasadena to Protest Amid City’s Crackdown on Free Speech

Workers will strike and picket despite City Attorney filing criminal cases against against workers who peacefully protested during earlier strike

Pasadena, CA: Dozens of hotel housekeepers, cooks and other employees of the Hilton Pasadena will be among hundreds of workers at hotels operated by Aimbridge Hospitality who will strike this Friday as part of a campaign for living wages, dignified conditions, and protections against sexual harassment.

The Hilton workers’ strike comes in the wake of criminal filings by the Pasadena City Attorney against protestors who participated in a peaceful picket line at the Hilton during a previous strike in December.  Pasadena is the only city in Southern California that has filed criminal charges against participants in strikes that have occurred at more than sixty hotels across Southern California.

The charges allege that the protestors used handheld bullhorns in violation of a city law that restricts the use of amplified sound that is more than five decibels above the ambient level. The union asserts that the law is unconstitutionally restrictive of free speech and that it was misapplied by the City Attorney in a way that stifled workers’ First Amendment rights.  Despite the City’s crackdown, the workers plan to strike again and to exercise their constitutional rights to peacefully protest.

Workers at the Pasadena Hilton join the already hundreds of workers at hotels operated by Aimbridge Hospitality across the Los Angeles area on strike.  Through strikes and an “occupy” action near LAX, Aimbridge workers are seeking send a message that Aimbridge’s to their operator that management’s recent response to sexual harassment allegations will not suffice and that they want respect and a fair contract.  Earlier this year, workers launched a boycott of the controversial hotel operator, which they have dubbed “Shamebridge.”