PICKET LINE AT THE LONG BEACH YACHT CLUB
Nothing like a Sunday afternoon picket at the Long Beach Yacht Club! Workers united for a better contract!
WORKERS AT THE LONG BEACH YACHT CLUB VOTE TO AUTHORIZE A STRIKE
Workers at the Long Beach Yacht Club voted 100% to authorize a strike. If the company doesn’t give them what they are asking for, they will go on strike once their contract expires December 31!
PRESS-TELEGRAM: Long Beach Convention Center, airport, amphitheater workers to receive ‘Olympic wage’ increases
“This is something that we’ve been working on for a couple of years now, and it’s very significant,” said Ada Briceño, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, the labor union representing concession workers. “It’s going to change lives for hundreds of workers in the airport, in the Convention Center, and in the new amphitheater. We’re quite happy with what’s transpiring.”
IT’S OFFICIAL! LONG BEACH CITY COUNCIL PASSES THE OLYMPIC WAGE!
The Long Beach City Council had a final vote to raise the wage for concession workers at the airport and convention center to $29.50/hour by the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028. The policy extends protections to future workers at the Long Beach Bowl, a highly anticipated waterfront venue adjacent to the Queen Mary that will be the second-largest outdoor amphitheater in L.A. County.
Thanks to this victory, concession workers are now brought up to the same wage standard that was won by hotel workers when Long Beach voters approved Measure RW, which went into effect just over a year ago.
This victory was only made possible through our broad coalition of 75 local community organizations, 206 small businesses, and thousands of voters who overwhelmingly passed higher wages for our Long Beach tourism workers through Measure RW.
WINNING THE OLYMPIC WAGE IN LONG BEACH!
On July 22, the Long Beach City Council voted to raise the wage for concession workers at the airport and convention center to $29.50/hour by the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028. Thanks to this victory, concessions workers are now at the same wage standard that hotel workers secured when Long Beach voters approved Measure RW, which went into effect just over a year ago.
BREAKING NEWS: VICTORY: Workers at Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center Ratify Life-Changing 3-Year Agreement
Contract includes $12 an hour raise and protections on subcontracting
Long Beach, CA: UNITE HERE Local 11 members at the city-owned Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center have overwhelmingly ratified a historic agreement with the LBCEC operator, ASM Global.
“The improvements we won in our contract will help me pay my rent and feed my family. I will be able to take my kids out and enjoy time with my family without worrying about money,” said Jeanelle Cooper, concessions worker of 9 years at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center.
Included in the new agreement are:
- Enormous wage increases totaling $12 an hour over the three-year agreement. Some workers will see a 65% raise!
- Free family health insurance.
- A 400% increase in pension contributions.
- Strong protections to prevent the exploitation of subcontracted workers, a key sticking point in the negotiations.
- Extension of contract to soon to be developed amphitheater, Long Beach Bowl.
- Olympic Expiration Date: January 15, 2028. The workers will join 20,000 members whose contracts expire on the eve of the 2028 Olympics. The LBCEC is scheduled to host events handball, and swimming.
In addition to the life changing wages and benefits, ASM Global also agreed to offer employment to all workers at the temporary staffing agency, 1Fifty1, which was the subject of allegations of potential wage theft which are being investigated by the California Labor Commissioner. ASM Global canceled its contract with 1Fifty1 temporary agency after workers came forward with these allegations. ASM Global has now offered employment to more than 25 former 1Fifty1 workers. These workers will see their wages increase by 80% during the term of the contract.
“This wasn’t an easy contract to win,” says Andrea Romero, cook of 12 years at the Long Beach Convention & Event Center. “My coworkers and I didn’t have a choice, though. We won fair pay for the hard work that we do and the way we help the tourism industry prosper in Long Beach.”
“Solidarity was the key to this victory. Our members again showed extraordinary courage and unity—they refused to settle until the workers exploited by the temporary agency 1Fifty1 won justice. Now, those workers have the right to permanent jobs and will be covered by this extraordinary contract,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11.
BOYCOTT: Workers at Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center Call for Boycott Amid Growing Labor Issues with ASM and Joint Employer, City of Long Beach
Long Beach: UNITE HERE Local 11 members plan to launch a boycott of the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, owned by the City of Long Beach, until its operator ASM Global and the city agrees to sign a fair contract that ensures that all workers including subcontracted workers earn a living wage and are treated fairly. The boycott calls for tourists and visitors to choose alternatives for events.
The call for a boycott comes after the union filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board last week alleging that ASM Global, the primary company that manages and operates the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, unlawfully called the police on picketing workers in retaliation for their protected activity and surveilled workers who were peacefully exercising their legal rights. The complaint names city manager Tom Modica as a representative of the City of Long Beach, which the complaint alleges is a joint employer of the striking Convention Center employees. ASM was recently purchased by Legends which also manages food and beverage operations at Sofi Stadium and the Los Angeles Coliseum.
For months, workers have been seeking to bargain a successor union contract with fair working conditions, voted to authorize a strike and then picketed the Convention Center during Mayor Rex Richardson’s State of the City & the Long Beach State of the Port last week.
The union also filed a public records request requesting all communications between ASM and City departments, including the Office of City Manager Tom Modica, and documents associated with the Request for Proposals for operation of a temporary amphitheater located adjacent to the Queen Mary. Mayor Rex Richardson announced at the State of the City that Legends & ASM had been “identified as the official operator” for that venue. Long Beach city leaders voted in early January to draft an ordinance to revise the minimum wage in a manner that would strip away the rights of subcontracted workers to be covered by the city’s wage law. Workers and community members are calling on the city to reverse this decision.