POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS

UNITE HERE Local 11 has been a leader in the fight for immigrant rights, and to elect leaders who will represent working families’ interests. Notably, in 2020, Local 11 ran the largest single canvass in Arizona, winning the state for the pro-labor presidential and senate candidates.

In December 2020 Local 11 sent more than 300 leaders to Georgia to join a coalition to campaign for Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, winning two senate seats for the Democrats and ensuring that President Biden will have a majority in the Senate to enact policies to support working families.

Martha Santamaria for Hugo Soto-Martínez for LA City Council

“I am proud of Hugo, who is one of our own. He comes from humble beginnings and worked to organize his own hotel. He knows what it is to be a working person, and he will be an excellent voice for working families on Los Angeles’ City Council.” UNITE HERE Local 11 Executive Vice President Martha Santamaria.

Midterm Elections Voter Guide — November 8, 2022

Click on each section to see UNITE HERE Local 11 membership’s endorsements. 

Mayor of Los Angeles
Karen Bass

City Council
Council District 5 – Katy Young Yaroslavsky
Council District 11 – Erin Darling
Council District 13 – Hugo Soto-Martinez
Council District 15 –  Tim McOsker

City Controller
Paul Koretz

City Attorney (vote for ONLY ONE of these two candidates)

Option A – Faisal Gill – Civil Rights attorney. A strong supporter of our Union’s efforts to regulate short term rentals and to stop wage theft. Endorsed by Black Lives Matter LA Co-Founder Melina Abdullah, Councilmember Mike Bonin, the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 2015 Homecare Workers.

Option B – Hydee Feldstein Soto – Attorney-at-law and Neighborhood Councilmember.  A strong supporter of our Union’s efforts to regulate short term rentals and to stop wage theft. Running to be the first woman City Attorney in the City’s history, and its first Latina. Endorsed by the LA Times, the Los Angeles Democratic Party, Planned Parenthood, the Sierra Club, and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Nurses Union 121RN.

Los Angeles City and County Measures/Propositions:
Yes on Measure/Proposition A– Reform the Sheriff’s department
Yes on Measure/Proposition LA – Repair Community College buildings
Yes on Measure/Proposition ULA– Build affordable housing
Yes on Measure/Proposition LH– Build affordable housing
Yes on Measure/Proposition SP– Create new parks

Board of Supervisors
District 3 – Lindsey Horvath

County Sheriff
Robert Luna

Superior Court Judicial Seats
Office No. 60
– Anna Reitano
Office No. 67 – Elizabeth Lashley-Haynes
Office No. 70 – Holly Hancock
Office No. 90 – Melissa Lyons
Office No. 116 – David Gelfound
Office No. 118 – Carolyn “Jiyoung” Park
Office No. 151 – Patrick Hare

Los Angeles Community College
Los Angeles Community College District 2 – Steven F. Veres
Los Angeles Community College District 4 – Sara Hernandez
Los Angeles Community College District 6 – Gabriel Buelna
Los Angeles Community College District 7 – Kelsey Iino

Los Angeles City and County Measures/Propositions:

Yes on Measure/Proposition A– Reform the Sheriff’s department
Yes on Measure/Proposition LA – Repair Community College buildings
Yes on Measure/Proposition ULA– Build affordable housing
Yes on Measure/Proposition LH– Build affordable housing
Yes on Measure/Proposition SP– Create new parks

Mayor – Rex Richardson

City Council
Council District 3 – Kailee Caruso
Council District 5 – Megan Kerr
Council District 9 – Joni Ricks-Oddie

Long Beach Unified School District
District 1 – Nubia Flores
District 3 – Juan Benitez

City Council 
Ellis Raskin
Caroline Torosis
Jesse Zwick

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board
Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein
Alicia Mignano
Laurie Lieberman

Rent Control Board
Daniel Ivanov
Ericka Lesley
Kurt Gonska

Santa Monica College Board of Trustees
Sion Roy
Tom Peters
Barry Snell
Nancy Greenstein

Local Santa Monica Ballot Measures
YES on Measure GS: To increase the tax on sale of luxury real estate to fund local schools, support low-income seniors, and build affordable housing
NO on Measure DT: A measure whose real, but secret, purpose is to create a “poison pill” to defeat Measure GS
YES on Measure RC: To reduce this year’s 6% rent adjustment to ensure an average of 3% for the year & caps future annual rent adjustments at 3%
YES on Measure EM: To give the Santa Monica Rent Control Board authority to reduce rents in a declared emergency
YES on Measure SMC: To support an SMC bond measure to replace obsolete buildings, modernize classroom technologies, & create affordable student housing

Bell City Council – Ana Maria Quintana

West Hollywood 
City Council
Chelsea Byers
Robert Oliver
Zekiah Wright

Lynwood 
City Council
Juan Muñoz-Guevara
Lorraine Avila-Moore

Centinela Valley Union High School District Board of Trustees
Trustee Area 5 – Estefany Castañeda

Pasadena
Measure H (rent control) – Yes

Burbank 
City Council – Nikki Perez

El Monte
Mayor – Jessica Ancona

West Covina
City Council District 4 – Daniel Luna
City Council District 5 – Fredrick Sykes

Board of Supervisors
District 2 – Vince Sarmiento
District 4 – Sunny Park
District 5 – Katrina Foley

Anaheim
Mayor– Ashleigh Aitken
City Council District 2
– Carlos Leon
City Council District 3
 – Al Jabbar
City Council District 6 – Hari Lal

Superior Court Judicial Seats
Office No. 30 – Michele Bell

Aliso Viejo
City Council – Tiffany Ackley
City Council – Payal Avellan

Buena Park
City Council District 1
– Joyce Ahn
City Council District 2
– Jose Trinidad Castañeda
City Council District 5
– Connor Traut

Costa Mesa
Mayor– John Stephens
City Council District 3
– Andrea Marr
City Council District 4 – Manuel Chavez

Cypress
City Council
– David Burke
City Council – Helen Le

Fountain Valley
City Council – Rudy Huebner

Fullerton
City Council District 3
– Shana Charles
City Council District 5 – Ahmad Zahra

Huntington Beach
City Council
– Oscar Rodriguez
City Council – Gina Clayton-Tarvin
City Council – Kenneth Inouye
City Council – William “Billy” O’Connell
City Attorney –  Scott Field

City of Irvine
City Council –
Kathleen Treseder
City Council –
Larry Agran

La Habra
City Council, Short Term – Daren Nigsarian
City Council, Regular Term – Michelle Bernier

Laguna Hills
City Council – Parshan Khosravi

La Palma
City Council – Janet Conklin

Mission Viejo
City Council District 1 – Deborah Cunningham-Skurnik
City Council District 2 – Stacy Holmes
City Council District 3 – Cynthia Vasquez
City Council District 4 – Terri Aprati
City Council District 5 – Jonathan Miller

Orange
City Council District 1 – Jason White

Santa Ana
Mayor – Sal Tinajero
City Council Ward 2 – Benjamin Vazquez
City Council Ward 4 – Amalia Mejia
City Council ward 6 – Manny Escamila

San Clemente
City Council
– Dennis Kamp
City Council – Donna Vidrine
City Council – Mark Enmeier

Seal Beach
City Council District 1
– Joel Kalmick
City Council District 3 – Stephanie Wade

Stanton
City Council District 1
– Donald Torres

Tustin
Mayor
– Rebecca “Becky” Gomez
City Council District 3 – Frank Gomez

Anaheim Union High School District Trustee
Trustee Area 1 – Billie Joe Wright

Buena Park School District
Trustee Area 4 – Brenda Estrada

Coast Community College District
Trustee Area 1 – Jim Moreno

Cypress School District
Trustee Area C – Kyle Chang

Fountain Valley School District
Trustee – Eileen Maeda
Trustee – Megan Irvine
Trustee – Phu Nguyen

Fullerton Elementary School District
Trustee Area 4 – Ruthi Hanchett

Fullerton Joint Union High School District
Trustee Area 4 – Lauren Klatzker

Garden Grove Unified School District
Trustee Area 2 – Mark Anthony Paredes

Huntington Beach Union High School District
Trustee – Christine Hernandez
Trustee – Bonnie Castrey

La Habra City School District
Trustee – Cynthia Aguirre
Trustee – Adam Rogers
Trustee – Emily Pruitt

Los Alamitos Unified School District
Trustee Area 1 – Marlys Davidson

Lowell Joint School District
Trustee Area 4 – Esther Evangelista

Ocean View School District
Trustee – Jack Souders

Orange Unified School District
Trustee Area 51 – Kristin Erickson

Rancho Santiago Community College District
Trustee Area 2 – John Hanna

Rowland Unified School District
Trustee Area 5 – Kevin Hayakawa

Santa Ana Unified School District
Trustee Area 4 – Katie Brazer Aceves

Savanna School District
Trustee Area 2 – Elizabeth Winkler

South Orange County Community College District
Trustee Area 6 – Ryan Dack

Irvine Ranch Water District
Director Area 3 – Soha Vazirnia

Mesa Water District
Director Area 4 – Russell Baldwin
Director Area 5 – Shayanne Wright

Midway City Sanitary District
Director – Sergio Contreras

Moulton Niguel Water District
Director – Lily McGill

Municipal Water District of Orange County
Director Area 5 – Randall Crane

Aliso Viejo
Measure G – YES
Measure I – YES

Huntington Beach
Measure L – YES
Measure M – YES
Measure N – YES
Measure O – YES

Laguna Beach
Measure S – YES

Governor – Gavin Newsom
Lieutenant Governor – Eleni Kounalakis
Secretary of State – Shirley Weber
Attorney General – Rob Bonta
State Treasurer – Fiona Ma
State Controller – Malia Cohen
State Insurance Commissioner – Ricardo Lara
State Board of Equalization, District 3 – Antonio “Tony” Vazquez
State Board of Equalization, District 4 – Mike Schaefer
State Superintendent of  Public Instruction – Tony Thurmond
Vote YES on all State Judicial confirmations

40th District – Pilar Schiavo
41st District – Chris Holden
42nd District – Jacqui Irwin
43rd District – Luz Rivas
44th District – Laura Friedman
46th District – Jesse Gabriel
49th District – Mike Fong
51st District – Rick Chavez Zbur
52nd District – Wendy Carrillo
54th District – Miguel Santiago
55th District – Isaac Bryan
56th District – Lisa Calderon
57th District – Reggie Jones-Sawyer
61st District –  Tina McKinnor
62nd District – Anthony Rendon
64th District – Blanca Pacheco
65th District – Mike Gipson
67th District – Sharon Quirk-Silva
68th District – Avelino Valencia
69th District – Josh Lowenthal
70th District – Diedre Thu-Ha Nguyen
72nd District – Judie Mancuso
73rd District – Cottie Petrie-Norris
74th District – Chris Duncan

24th District – Ben Allen
26th District – Maria Elena Durazo
28th District – Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
30th District – Bob Archuleta
32nd District – Brian Nash
34th District – Tom Umberg
36th District – Kim Carr
38th District – Catherine Blakespear

20th District (vote for ONLY ONE of these two candidates)

Option A – Caroline Menjivar – The daughter of immigrants from El Salvador who served as a U.S. Marine. Endorsed by Senator Maria Elena Durazo and the Los Angeles Times.

Option B – Daniel Hertzberg – Spent nearly a decade working as a hotel worker. Wants to be an ally to hotel workers in the State Senate because he knows the backbreaking work of folding sheets and waiting tables.

State Propositions
Yes on Proposition 1 – Provides a state constitutional right to privacy in decisions about contraception and abortion.
No on Proposition 27 – Out-of-state corporations take 90% of money. No real CA investment or jobs.
Yes on Proposition 28
– Provides additional funding for K-12 art and music education.
Yes on Proposition 29 – Creates staffing, reporting, and disclosure regulations for dialysis clinics.
Yes on Proposition 30 – Improves air quality
Yes on Proposition 31 – Upholds the ban on flavored tobacco sales.

US Senate, Short Term  – Alex Padilla
US Senate, Full Term – Alex Padilla

26th District – Julia Brownley
27th District – Christy Smith
28th District – Judy Chu
29th District – Tony Cárdenas
30th District – Adam Schiff
31st District – Grace Napolitano
32nd District – Brad Sherman
34th District – Jimmy Gomez
35th District – Norma Torres
36th District – Ted Lieu
37th District – Sydney Kamlager
38th District – Linda Sánchez
40th District – Asif Mahmood
42nd District – Robert Garcia
43rd District – Maxine Waters
44th District – Nanette Barragán
45th District – Jay Chen
46th District – Lou Correa
47th District – Katie Porter
49th District – Mike Levin

US Senate – Mark Kelly
Governor – Katie Hobbs
Secretary of State – Adrian Fontes
Attorney General – Kris Mayes
Superintendent of Schools – Kathy Hoffman

US House of Representatives
District 1 – Jevin Hodge
District 2 – Tom O’Halleran
District 3 – Ruben Gallego
District 4 – Greg Stanton
District 5 – Javier Ramos
District 6 – Kirsten Engel
District 7 – Raul Grijalva

Corporation Commission
Lauren Kuby
Sandra Kennedy

City of Phoenix
District 4 – Laura Pastor
District 6 – Kellen Wilson
District 8 – Carlos Garcia

State Legislature
State Senate District 2Jeanne Casteen
State House District 2 – Judy Schwiebert
State Senate District 4 – Christine Marsh
State Senate District 5 – Lela Alston
State House District 5 – Jennifer Longdon
State Senate District 7 – Kyle Nitschke
State Senate District 8 – Juan Mendez
State House District 8 – Athena Salman
State House District 8 – Melody Hernandez
State Senate District 9 – Eva Burch
State House District 9 – Lorena Austin
State House District 9 – Seth Blattman
State House District 10 – Helen Hunter
State House District 11 – Marcelino Quinonez
State House District 11 – Oscar de los Santos
State Senate District 12 – Mitzi Epstein
State House District 12 – Stacey Travers
State House District 12 – Patricia Contreras
State Senate District 13 – Cynthia “Cindy” Hans
State House District 13 – Jennifer Pawlik
State House District 14 – Brandy Reese
State Senate District 16 – Taylor Kerby
State House District 16 – Keith Seaman
State House District 17 – Brian Radford
State Senate District 18 – Priya Sundareshan
State House District 18 – Nancy Gutierrez
State House District 18 – Chris Mathis
State House District 20 – Andres Cano
State Senate District 21 – Rosanna Gabaldon
State House District 21Stephanie Stahl-Hamilton
State House District 21 – Consuelo Hernandez
State Senate District 23 – Brian Fernandez
State House District 23 – Jesus Lugo Jr.
State House District 23 – Mariana Sandoval
State House District 24 – Analise Ortiz
State House District 24 – Anna Hernandez
State Senate District 26 – Raquel Teran
State House District 26 – Cesar Aguilar
State House District 26 – Flavio Bravo
State House District 28 – Stephanie Holbrook
State House District 29 – Scott Podeyn

Ballot Propositions:
Proposition 128 – NO
Proposition 129 – NO
Proposition 132 – NO
Proposition 308 – YES
Proposition 309 – NO


Distributed by UNITE HERE Local 11. 464 Lucas Ave., #201, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Not authorized by or coordinated with a City candidate or committee controlled by a candidate. Additional information is available at ethics.lacity.org.

UNITE HERE Local 11 Endorses Christy Smith for Congress

Smith pledges to fight for hospitality workers and to hold large corporations accountable for abuse of the Paycheck Protection Program

Panorama City, Calif.—UNITE HERE Local 11 is proud to endorse Christy Smith for California’s 27th Congressional District in a competitive, must-win race for Democrats. In the California State Assembly, Smith has authored bills focusing on education reform, homeowner protections and college affordability.

Smith is a pro-choice champion that will focus on protecting reproductive rights, tackling climate change and creating an equitable economy that works for everyone. Her opponent, Trump Republican Mike Garcia, voted against the certification of electoral votes in Pennsylvania and Arizona that helped cement Joe Biden’s presidential victory, opposed the impeachment of President Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, stood against legalizing Dreamers and reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act and cosponsored legislation that would effectively ban all abortion and some forms of birth control.

Garcia is the wrong candidate for hospitality workers and the wrong candidate for Northern Los Angeles County. In May 2020, Garcia helped block the bipartisan TRUTH Act, which would have ensured greater transparency regarding how Paycheck Protection Program funds are allocated and made sure funds get to the small businesses for which they are intended. Over two years later, although National Bureau of Economic Research analysis found that only 23% to 34% of the $800 billion in PPP funds went to workers who would have otherwise lost their jobs, taxpayers are still waiting for the Small Business Administration to disclose how borrowers claim to have spent their loans in loan forgiveness applications.

The Chair of the Biden Administration’s Pandemic Response Accountability Committee said it wouldn’t surprise him if there was over $100 billion in fraudulent pandemic aid and the head of the SBA’s Office of Inspector General said billions in pandemic fraud will take 100 years of work to investigate.

Garcia campaign donor and fellow Trump supporter Paul Reed is Chairman of hotel and golf course firm JC Resorts, a company that should be a high priority for investigation. The Los Serranos Golf Club operated by JC Resorts received $1.5 million in PPP loans, but JC Resorts appears to be over the threshold for PPP eligibility; one business analytics company estimates JC Resorts’ total number of employees to be 1200 and its annual sales to be $70.5 million.

We can’t count on Mike Garcia to investigate whether wealthy hospitality firms like JC Resorts improperly took PPP loans meant for real small businesses or to push for greater transparency and oversight of trillions in Covid relief.

Christy Smith will help taxpayers and workers get to the bottom of PPP fraud, and has what it takes to beat Mike Garcia.

###

The Woman Who Turned Orange County Blue

Los Angeles votes to adopt hotel worker protections

UNITE HERE Local 11 Housekeepers Submit 100k Signatures on Groundbreaking Initiative to City of Los Angeles

Initiative would follow lead of neighboring cities to mandate panic buttons and raise minimum wage for hotel workers

Los Angeles – Over one hundred housekeepers and other hospitality workers today turned in the petitions they have collected since late January to qualify their initiative for the November 2022 ballot. The initiative mirrors protections they have secured in Long Beach, Santa Monica and most recently West Hollywood.

“I am one of thousands of housekeepers in Los Angeles who will finally have panic buttons and other protections on the job”, said Martha Moran, a laid off housekeeper from the storied Chateau Marmont. “My coworkers and I deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and to receive fair compensation for the work we do. This initiative provides those things.”

Over one hundred thousand Angelenos have signed on to the measure that provides:

  • Panic buttons and other security measures to protect hotel housekeepers from sexual assault and threatening conduct
  • Fair compensation for heavy workloads
  • Automatic daily room cleaning throughout the industry
  • Expansion of minimum wage law for hotel workers
    “My heart is always with the workers, like my mother, who worked her fingers to the bone,” said Councilman Kevin De Leon. “The hard-working immigrant women and men who make up the hospitality industry in our city are the backbone of our economy and I’m proud to stand with them today as they submit their historic initiative petition. I’m ready to work with my colleagues on the L.A. City Council to transform this initiative into law. The people have spoken, and it’s our job to listen.”

“Even though I don’t work at a hotel, I understand that raising the standards for some of the lowest paid workers in the hospitality industry will bring up standards for all of us,” said Isha Kallay, food server from the Hollywood Park and Casino. “I wanted to collect signatures for this initiative because we need to stick together in order for all of us to get ahead.”

The housekeeping measure comes in response to the hotel industry’s attempt to cut labor costs and increase workloads by eliminating daily room cleaning during the pandemic. It also provides vital protections against sexual assault for housekeepers when cleaning guest rooms alone. The workers call on the Los Angeles City Council to outright adopt the law.

“The hotel industry has wanted to get rid of daily room cleaning for years, and the pandemic gave them the perfect excuse,” notes Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11. “Angelenos have just shown the industry, led by the Chateau Marmont, that they see through the greedy pandemic profiteering tactics and stand with the housekeepers. I am hopeful that the Los Angeles City Council will do the same and outright adopt the ordinance. Los Angeles is a leading tourist destination; that should mean good jobs for Angelenos.”

Watch the entire press conference here
View more photos here

Kenny Washington Day

February 13, 2022—Super Bowl Sunday!—was officially marked as Kenny Washington Day by a motion of the LA City Council introduced by Councilmember Curren Price. Kenny Washington was the first African-American player to integrate the NFL. Two days previously, a tentative agreement was reached between concession workers and management at SoFi Stadium on their first Union contract. To celebrate both the legacy of Kenny Washington and the tentative union contract for SoFi workers, we were joined—amongst others—by civil rights legend, Reverend James Lawson. AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, LA County Fed President Ron Herrera, LA City Councilmember Curren Price, NFL Players Association President JC Tretter, and the NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith.