PRESS INQUIRIES
For Press Inquiries:
Maria Hernandez, Communications
(623) 340-8047 (mobile)
[email protected]
For Arizona Press Inquiries:
Rachele Smith, Communications
(623) 670-9889 (mobile)
[email protected]
Some of the following press releases have been shortened and edited to avoid redundancy.
High resolution photos are available upon request.
UNITE HERE Local 11 represents over 32,000 workers employed in hotels, restaurants, airports, sports arenas, and convention centers throughout Southern California and Arizona. Members of UNITE HERE Local 11 join together to fight for improved living standards and working conditions.
UNITE HERE Local 11 & Western States Regional Council of Carpenters Ran L.A.’s Largest Election Operation for Nithya Raman and Marissa Roy
Room attendants, cooks, dishwashers, theme park, airport, and stadium workers led the way. They walked and called for Raman because she stood with them. She was arrested in nonviolent civil disobedience in support of their historic strike for living wages. She protected the citywide Olympic Wage ordinance. She stood up to tech billionaires like Airbnb.
More than any other vote, the one that defined the election for UNITE HERE Local 11 members was the Mayor’s proposal to loosen regulations on short-term rental platforms like Airbnb, which Councilmember Raman strenuously opposed. Airbnb went on to become a major funder of the independent expenditure campaigns to elect both Mayor Bass and City Attorney candidate John McKinney, Marissa Roy’s opponent. Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia joined the Trump administration and in October made an eight million dollar donation to Prop 39, an effort that UNITE HERE Local 11 members believe is an attack on Latino voting rights.
“I knocked on doors and voted for Nithya Raman because she stood with us as my coworkers and I fought for the Olympic Wage. I supported Marissa Roy because we need someone who will hold employers and corporate landlords accountable when they break the law. More than anything, we need a city leadership that listens to working families, not billionaire corporations,” said Elisa Valencia, Flying Food Group worker and UNITE HERE Local 11 member
We are proud of every worker who stepped up and every voter who joined us. Whatever the results, our fight for a Los Angeles that puts working families first moved forward in this campaign.
###
Paid for by UNITE HERE Local 11 PAC, 464 S. Lucas Ave., Suite 201, Los Angeles. Not authorized by or coordinated with a City candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate. Funding details at ethics.lacity.gov.
PRESS RELEASE: Worker Power Completes Largest Campaign in Arizona
Phoenix, AZ — By election night, Worker Power will have knocked on 235,000 doors and contacted 39,000 voters in some of the most hotly contested races for the Democrats to take control of the House in Congress since Labor Day.
In addition to talking to voters about Amish Shah and JoAnna Mendoza, Worker Power canvassers focussed on candidates in Legislative Districts 2, 4, 16, and 17 in what is seen as the best year for Democrats to take control of the Arizona Legislature. Worker Power also canvassed to reelect Katie Hobbs, Adrian Fontes, and Kris Mayes.
“In 2024, we recognized we needed to make a change in our approach,” said Executive Director Brendan Walsh. “We have been talking to voters since last summer about issues that deeply affect them, and one we kept hearing about was how hard it is for working people to support and care for themselves and their families. But a lot of those same people don’t vote regularly. We prioritized getting them to do it this year. No matter the results, we got new people to the polls, and they’re going to keep going.”
Many of the canvassers were union members who took leaves of absence from their jobs to canvass. “I’m not a very political person,” said Ellen Stant, a food service worker for Aramark at Arizona State University. “I never really made the connection before between how I’m doing economically and voting. And I’ve not always voted for Democrats, but seeing how hard it has been for me to stay out of a homeless shelter, I know we need people who will represent working people like me and not the big corporations.”
Worker Power focused its efforts on mobilizing voters with a lower vote-turnout record among voters of color, women, and households with lower incomes.
Worker Power has had the largest field operation in every election cycle since 2018. Worker Power Institute assisted 17,000 voters with their voter registration this year, the single largest number of people we have assisted in any one election cycle.
Burbank Airport workers picket on first day at new terminal to demand that Marshall Retail Group offers to retain all existing retail workers
Burbank, Calif.–The new terminal at the Hollywood Burbank Airport was set to open today with concessionaire Marshall Retail Group poised to take over retail operations. The day of the opening, workers are sounding the alarm over Marshall’s failure to keep the airport’s existing retail workforce.
From the beginning of the bidding process, the Commission governing the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority made it clear that retaining current airport employees was a priority. It voted to award Marshall’s bid to take over retail concessions after being told that all current workers would be retained.
However, workers report that Marshall has hired unbadged outsiders and not offered employment to the majority of veteran security-badged staff. In failing to keep most of the outgoing concessionaire’s employees, Marshall has relied in part on what appears to be a drafting error in its concession agreement with the airport. The purpose of the worker retention requirement is to ensure the retention of the airport’s existing workforce, and to avoid dislocation of employees during the transition. Marshall’s conduct undermines this purpose.
“When I learned that Marshall would not automatically retain me, I applied twice for a position with them and still have not received a job offer. I rely on this job to pay my bills, and I’m not sure what I would do without it,” said Diego Rosales, a current retail employee at the airport who has yet to receive an employment offer from Marshall.
“When the Airport Authority awarded Marshall Retail this valuable contract, it was told these workers’ jobs would be protected. Now most of them haven’t even received an offer. These are experienced, dedicated, hardworking people. They and their families deserve better,” said Robin Rodriguez, Organizing Director for UNITE HERE Local 11.
Workers are demanding that Marshall offer to retain all existing retail workers. The union has also sent a letter to the Airport Authority requesting that the Commission take steps to correct and conform the existing worker retention requirement to accurately reflect the Commission’s intended directives, and investigate Marshall’s conduct on worker retention to date.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Hundreds of Universal Studios Hollywood Theme Park Workers Vote Overwhelmingly to Authorize Strike
Los Angeles, CA – Workers at Universal Studios Hollywood theme park voted over 98% to authorize a strike on Friday. Workers have been in negotiations for months with NBCUniversal Comcast, but have failed to reach an agreement.
“If I didn’t have my rideshare job on the side, I wouldn’t have enough to pay my rent next week.” said Stephanie, a Cook in the Upper Lot. “Every week I’m having to make choices like ‘do I pay for the internet, or do I pay for my phone? Do I buy food, or do I pay rent?’ It’s exhausting playing mental gymnastics with my paycheck. I’m tired of it, that’s why I voted to go on strike”.
Workers’ collective bargaining agreement with NBCUniversal expired on December 31st. The union reports that the company has not made significant movement on much-needed wage increases, affordable and accessible health insurance, and fair staffing.
“I have worked here for 13 years, and it used to be a fun job. But now I just clock in and out and leave. For Universal to try and eliminate my seniority, feels like they are trying to erase the years of work I have dedicated to the park.” said Satoshi a Food Stand Attendant at Toadstool
The strike authorization comes after a survey conducted by UNITE HERE Local 11 found a striking number of Universal Studios food service workers are struggling to afford basic needs like food and housing. The survey — in which 828 workers, nearly half of the park’s food service workforce, participated — found:
Meanwhile, revenue and executive pay has soared. Comcast reported that its theme parks division took in $9.8 billion in revenue in 2025, up 14.2% from the year before. In that same year, executive pay rose sharply. Comcast’s 2026 proxy statement discloses that co-CEO Mike Cavanagh’s compensation jumped 154% in 2025, to $71.8 million. Chairman and co-CEO Brian Roberts received $35.2 million — 381 times what the median Comcast employee made, by the company’s own calculation.
Workers could walk out any day following the authorization.
PRESS RELEASE: Two Women Sue Flying Food Group Over Alleged Sexual Assaults
LOS ANGELES — Two women employed at Flying Food Group’s facility serving Los Angeles International Airport filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court today alleging that the then-Executive Chef of its hot kitchen sexually assaulted them.
The complaint alleges that the manager invited the women to go drinking with him at the end of a long shift while they were still at Flying Food’s facility, directed them from the workplace to a vacant, unfurnished house he owned, where he plied them with alcohol for hours – while drinking little himself – and then sexually assaulted each of them in an empty room in the back of the house.
The complaint also alleges that the manager at one point told a coworker that he was going to “f*** them all,” referring to women he supervised in the kitchen.
The complaint further alleges that in the months that followed the assault, the manager subjected both women to escalating and selective discipline at work – and that in late August 2026, after one of the women took steps signaling that she intended to pursue legal action, Flying Food Group terminated her employment.
“Even though it is hard, I am coming forward because what happened to us should never happen to any woman who just wants to do her job. Flying Food Group needs to be held accountable,” said Zayra Lopez, one of the women bringing the lawsuit.
“I am doing this for my daughter. If God forbid something like this ever happened to her, I would want her to feel like she could come forward,” said Estefania Amador, the other plaintiff in the case.
A third worker has also filed a complaint against Flying Food Group with the California Civil Rights Department, alleging that the same manager repeatedly propositioned her at work over a period of months – advances she rebuffed every time. The complaint alleges that she, too, was recently terminated.
“I commend my clients for their courage in coming forward and speaking publicly about their allegations of sexual assault at the hands of their supervisor,” said Lauren Teukolsky, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs. According to the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC), 70% of individuals who experience sexual harassment never report it.
Six other women previously came forward with allegations that they experienced sexual harassment at Flying Food Group’s LAX facility – including several who alleged that, after coming forward, they were subjected to discipline, suspension, and threats of termination.
Flying Food Group has prepared food at LAX for airlines including Air France, Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Japan Airlines, ANA, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, and Air New Zealand, among others. The company is only permitted to operate at Los Angeles International Airport under a special license issued by the City of Los Angeles. That license is currently up for renewal, and Los Angeles World Airports is investigating the company’s compliance record following a February request by Mayor Karen Bass.
The filings come amid mounting government scrutiny of the company’s operations at LAX. Over the last several years, five different government agencies — Cal/OSHA, the California Labor Commissioner, the California Highway Patrol, the National Labor Relations Board, and the City of Los Angeles’ Bureau of Contract Administration — have issued citations or complaints against the company for violations of worker protection and public safety laws, including workplace safety violations, wage theft, and unfair labor practices.
Most recently, on May 20, 2026, Cal/OSHA issued six new Citations and Notifications of Penalty to the company, including four classified as “serious,” carrying $74,000 in total proposed penalties. Those citations followed a fire at the company’s Inglewood facility on January 22, 2026, during which, according to a complaint filed with Cal/OSHA, two workers were found inside a cold storage room whose entrance door had been chained shut from the outside. At each of the company’s two facilities serving LAX, Cal/OSHA cited a serious violation for failing to ensure that cold storage rooms could be opened from the inside — the same hazard for which the agency first cited the company in 2023.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are represented by Lauren Teukolsky of Teukolsky Law and Jeremy Blasi of UNITE HERE Local 11.
PRESS RELEASE: UNITE HERE Local 11 Endorses Nithya Raman for L.A. Mayor, Calling for a City That Workers Can Afford to Live
Brenda Mendoza, Laundry attendant at the JW Marriott L.A Live, member of UNITE HERE Local 11 said, “For 16 years, I have worked at the JW Marriott in Downtown Los Angeles, but I can no longer afford to live in the city where I was born, raised, and work. I was priced out of Koreatown and now live hours away in Apple Valley. I wake up at 2:30 in the morning, spend as much as four hours a day driving my family and myself to work, and sometimes get only three hours of sleep. I’ve watched more and more of my coworkers get pushed out of Los Angeles to Victorville, Lancaster, Bakersfield, and even farther away. Working people should be able to afford to live in the city we keep running every day. Nithya Raman has stood with workers like me on our picket lines, and I believe she will fight for us as mayor. I’m ready to fight for her, too, and help get Los Angeles out to vote. ¡Vamos con Nithya!”
The union says Nithya Raman will enforce the city’s laws on behalf of working people, not corporate landlords and donors, starting with housing. Los Angeles has failed to enforce its existing short term rental regulations and ensure working people can afford to live in the communities where they work.
“Our members understand the stakes better than most. They clean the rooms, cook the food, serve the guests, and welcome millions of visitors who come to Los Angeles every year. Our members are the people who help make Los Angeles a world-class destination—and they deserve to be able to afford to live in the city they help make thrive.
That’s what this election is about: Who is Los Angeles going to work for? We need a mayor who will stand with the working people who keep this city running and who isn’t afraid to take on powerful corporate interests when they threaten our communities. Nithya Raman will fight alongside our members to protect working families, enforce our laws, preserve our housing, and hold corporations like Airbnb accountable when they take desperately needed homes off the market,” said Ada Briceño, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11.
Nithya Raman, candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles, said, “UNITE HERE Local 11 members make Los Angeles’s hospitality industry run, and they should be able to afford to live in the city that depends on their labor. I am deeply honored to have their endorsement and proud of the work we have already done together. Local 11 knows how to take on powerful corporations and win. As mayor, I look forward to taking our collective fight citywide: building the housing we need, creating good union jobs, and making City Hall answer to the people who live and work here instead of the corporations trying to buy influence over it.”
According to Better Neighbors LA’s 2026 Revenue/Housing Report, more than half of Los Angeles’ short-term rental market is noncompliant with city regulations. The organization estimates that the city could collect approximately $47 million per month in fines through enforcement of existing short-term rental law and would bring 1,000’s of units back into homes for residents.
Nithya Raman will stand up to the billionaire class and fight for housing as Airbnb has emerged as a major political spender in Los Angeles, pouring more than $19 million into political committees and efforts supporting candidates for office while pushing City Hall for more lenient short-term rental regulations, spending aimed at using the Olympics to further erode housing for Angelenos rather than protect it.
UNITE HERE Local 11 announced it was prepared to mobilize its army of members into the field on behalf of Nithya Raman. During the primary election, the union’s members and volunteers knocked on more than 300,000 doors, the largest ground operation in the state, making Local 11’s endorsement one of the most sought-after in city politics.
PRESS RELEASE: Lawsuit Filed Against Long Beach Yacht Club for Alleged Pregnancy-Based Harassment and Retaliation
Long Beach, Calif.: Julianne Perez filed a lawsuit against the Long Beach Yacht Club alleging that she endured sex-based harassment and retaliation while working at the private club. The lawsuit follows a complaint Ms. Perez filed with the California Civil Rights Department in April, in which she alleged that the Yacht Club failed to correct the retaliation and harassment Ms. Perez she allegedly endured during her two pregnancies between 2023 and 2025.
According to the lawsuit, the Yacht Club’s executive chef insulted Ms. Perez’s work ethic when she requested shorter shifts because of her pregnancy and questioned whether such accommodations were necessary. The executive chef allegedly mocked Ms. Perez in front of kitchen staff after she extended her maternity leave in 2024 because she was struggling with post-partum depression. The complaint also alleges that the executive chef timed Ms. Perez’s restroom breaks when she was pregnant and scolded her if he thought she took too long. He allegedly scolded her so often that at times she urinated herself instead of using the restroom just to avoid discipline.
The lawsuit further alleges that Ms. Perez and fellow employees, including a former manager, reported the executive chef’s harassment to the Yacht Club’s Human Resources department on multiple occasions, but failed to take proper corrective action. The executive chef remains employed at the Yacht Club.
Ms. Perez was scheduled to return from maternity leave on August 5, 2026. However, according to the lawsuit, the Yacht Club’s failure to end the executive chef’s harassment of Ms. Perez forced her to resign from her
position two days before her scheduled return.
“I am filing this lawsuit to hold the Long Beach Yacht Club accountable and to stand up for every woman who has faced harassment or mistreatment in the workplace, especially during pregnancy. No woman should ever have to choose between protecting herself and her unborn child and keeping her job. I’m speaking up not only for myself, but in the hope that no other woman at the Yacht Club will ever have to endure what I did. I want accountability, I want change, and I want women to know they deserve to feel safe, respected, and protected at work.”
The Long Beach Yacht Club is a private club located on public land. Workers at the club are currently negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with UNITE HERE Local 11 to secure the protections and dignified working conditions all workers, including pregnant women, deserve.
Ms. Perez is represented by Lauren Teukolsky of Teukolsky Law and Jeremy Blasi of UNITE HERE Local 11.
BREAKING NEWS: Workers File New Safety Complaint on Alleged Maggots, Mold, Cockroaches and Other Issues at LAX Caterer Flying Food Group
Complaint follows Cal/OSHA citations for multiple “serious” workplace safety violations
LOS ANGELES: Workers have filed a complaint with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), urging state inspectors to investigate allegations of unsafe or unsanitary conditions inside Flying Food Group’s airline catering facilities serving Los Angeles International Airport.
The complaint, filed on behalf of workers by UNITE HERE Local 11, alleges that employees have been exposed to a range of unsafe conditions—including what workers reported to be maggots, mold, and cockroaches, as well as inadequate soap and paper towels and excessive heat—inside facilities responsible for preparing thousands of airline meals. The union has submitted photographs, videos, and worker testimony and is calling for an expedited on-site inspection.
According to the complaint, in late June 2026, one longtime employee was allegedly ordered to open airline dish carts that had sat unopened for an extended period and discovered dishes covered in decomposing food, and what appeared to be mold, maggots, and flies, producing an overwhelming stench. The worker allegedly suggested that the dishes be discarded, but was instead instructed by a supervisor to wash them because the dishes were needed for an upcoming flight. According to the complaint, the worker—who reported experiencing stomach pain, a headache, and a strange sensation in her nose while handling the noxious material—was not provided a mask or respirator to protect herself.
The complaint also alleges that workers have reported seeing what they believed to be cockroaches and other vermin in various parts of the facility—including in food preparation areas, near employee changing stations, near airline food carts, and inside the employee cafeteria. The complaint cites California laws requiring that employers provide a safe workplace and take steps to prevent the entrance or harborage of insects, rodents or other vermin.
The complaint also alleges that bathrooms and handwashing stations have often lacked adequate soap or paper towels, forcing employees to search elsewhere before returning to prepare food. Additionally, the complaint raises concerns about the quality of food served to workers at the facility, including allegations of expired or stale bread, food contaminated by debris, and improperly stored food.
The complaint also describes dangerously high temperatures in the facility’s dish room. A longtime employee reports that heat and humidity regularly make the room feel like “being in a sauna,” allegedly causing fatigue, dehydration, and headaches, and that a coworker reportedly nearly fainted from the heat. According to the complaint, management has been made aware of the problem but has not been provided a solution. The complaint asserts that these and other incidents, taken together, indicate that the company lacks the effective injury and illness prevention program required by California law.
“No one should have to work around maggots, cockroaches, mold, and rotting food just to earn a paycheck, as this complaint alleges,” said Susan Minato, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11, which represents the workers. “The workers who prepare meals for airline passengers deserve a workplace that meets the most basic standards of cleanliness and safety. We ask Cal/OSHA to take these issues seriously and investigate immediately.”
A Record of Safety Violations
Flying Food Group’s LAX operations have a long record of alleged safety violations. Most recently, in May 2026, Cal/OSHA issued the company six citations, including four it termed “Serious.” Two of the serious violations related to the company’s failure to ensure that cold storage rooms at two LAX facilities could be utilized safely and opened from the inside. In August 2023, Cal/OSHA had cited the company for the same storage room entrapment hazard—as part of a six-violation citation that also included bolting an exit door shut from the outside on the day of a planned worker picket line—but the company apparently did not correct the hazard. This led to a near tragedy during a fire in January 2026 in which two workers were found inside a cooler room whose entrance door had been chained shut from the outside. These citations and a summary are available here.
The complaint comes amid an ongoing labor dispute between Flying Food Group and UNITE HERE Local 11 over conditions at the company’s LAX facilities. In the course of that dispute, the union has proposed multiple workplace safety protections which Flying Food Group has rejected.
Flying Food Group is an airline catering company that provides in-flight meals for international airlines flying out of LAX like Lufthansa, Air France, SWISS Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Austrian Airlines, LOT Polish, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines, ANA, Starlux, China Southern, Qantas, Air New Zealand, and Hawaiian Airlines. LAX authorities recently gave FFG only a six-month extension—terminating at the end of 2026—to its license to operate at LAX. The City has launched an investigation into the Company’s safety and labor practices.