We Will Continue Fighting

Statement Regarding Governor Newsom’s Action on AB 3216

AB 3216 would simply have allowed hospitality workers to return to their jobs as the industry reopens. This veto is devastating to the low wage workers who built the hospitality industry, especially women of color, who were looking for a leader to walk with them through this time of struggle. The most powerful elected Democrat in the state sided with the wealthy hotel owners of the Terranea Resort and Chateau Marmont instead of hardworking hotel workers. The pain for immigrant workers is compounded by the Governor’s additional vetoes of AB 826 (emergency food assistance to immigrants) and SB 1257 (workplace safety protections for domestic workers). Our families and communities lose with the combined impact of these actions. We are thankful to all of the Democratic legislators who stood with the working poor and supported these essential protections.

The housekeepers, dishwashers, and cooks who led this fight are committed to upholding our democracy. Workers are already on their way to join their brothers and sisters to walk door to door in searing heat of Arizona to save democracy by electing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Our commitment to our values and our vision stands strong. When we’re done getting out the vote for this election, we’ll return and fight to make it right for California workers, even if it’s hard to imagine how in this moment of heartache.

Ada Briceño, co-president
Susan Minato, co-president
Kurt Petersen, co-president

“What am I to do without the job that I’ve depended on for so long? Am I supposed to beg my boss not to replace me? I came to the Capitol with hope in my heart that Governor Newsom would hear my story and stand with me as a leader and a Democrat. Instead I see that I will depend on my coworkers so we can defend ourselves against the power of Disney, the Chateau Marmont and the other mega-corporations, and this has always been the truth we face.”

— Maria Sanchez, laid-off worker at Aramark, Anaheim Convention Center

Local 11 Statement on Disney Laying Off Cast Members Due to COVID-19

Cast members plan Caravan to Capitol Wednesday, Ask Gov. Newsom to Sign AB 3216

Anaheim, CA: UNITE HERE Local 11 just learned that Disney will lay off approximately 950 of our nearly 3,000 members, effective November 1.  The Union will engage in bargaining with the company over issues including job security and healthcare coverage.  This highlights the urgent need for AB 3216, the California State law that guarantees recall and retention for hospitality workers. We are asking Governor Gavin Newsom to sign AB 3216 now.

Tomorrow, furloughed Disney workers will caravan to the California State Capitol to ask Governor Gavin Newsom sign AB 3216. AB 3216 would guarantee the most experienced of these workers the ability to return to their jobs when the crisis subsides. Governor Gavin Newsom has until September 30 to sign AB 3216.

The caravan comes after Disney announced it would lay off 28,000 of its cast members due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I love my job, which is why as a mom of five kids I am asking Governor Gavin Newsom sign AB 3216 to ensure that hundreds of thousands of workers like myself have the opportunity to return to their job once the pandemic is over” said Ines Guzman, furloughed housekeeper at the Disneyland Hotel for 5 years.

“Our members have given decades of their lives to companies like Disney. Now through no fault of their own, they are being laid off. We urge Governor Gavin Newson to sign AB 3216 a lifeline for hospitality workers” said Ada Briceño, Chair of the Democratic Party of Orange County and Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11.

Keisha Banks in Sacramento

 

Maria Elena Durazo in Sacramento

Letter to Governor Newsom