https://www.unitehere11.org/wp-content/uploads/TWOMOREWINS.jpg1188750UNITE HERE Local 11/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpgUNITE HERE Local 112024-04-23 17:51:322024-04-23 17:51:32TWO MORE WINS!
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.
$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.”
###
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
/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpg00Maria Hernandez/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpgMaria Hernandez2024-04-23 13:41:232024-04-23 17:53:047 New Hotels, Including Hotel Maya Long Beach, Sign with UNITE HERE Local 11, Raising the Total to 41 Agreements
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.
###
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
https://www.unitehere11.org/wp-content/uploads/grandprix1.jpg485750Maria Hernandez/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpgMaria Hernandez2024-04-18 14:45:192024-04-19 10:33:19GRAND PRIX STRIKE ALERT: Hotel Maya Workers Vow to Walk Out if No Deal Reached During Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
https://www.unitehere11.org/wp-content/uploads/LBBUSINESSJOURNAL-FEB22.jpg630750UNITE HERE Local 11/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpgUNITE HERE Local 112024-02-22 10:32:442024-02-29 10:34:38LB BUSINESS JOURNAL: Mayor chastises Hotel Maya owners over ‘pattern of violence’ against union protesters
Long Beach, CA– The California Labor Commissioner’s Office issued a citation Monday totalling $4.8 million to the Hyatt Regency Long Beach, alleging that the hotel failed to recall, or to timely recall, workers to their former positions in violation of state law. The citation is the largest citation known to have been issued against a hotel company in state history.
Signed into law in 2021, SB-93 requires hotels, event centers, and other hospitality businesses to offer employees whom they laid off due the COVID-19 downturn in tourism an opportunity to return to work in open positions for which they are qualified in order of seniority. The law, recently extended until December 31, 2024, provides job protection to some 700,000 laid-off housekeepers, cooks, waiters, and others across the state.
Rigoberto Villagrana, who was laid off by the Hyatt Regency after working at the hotel since 1996, said, “Being laid off during the pandemic has been devastating for me and my family. We’ve struggled to pay our mortgage and keep food on the table. I am really glad to see the state stepping in to make sure Hyatt Regency complies with the law.”
The Labor Commissioner’s Office, which is led by Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower, conducted an investigation in response to complaints from workers alleging violations of the recall law.
“Some of these employees had as much as 24 years of experience, and were suddenly out of work due to a public health emergency,” said Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower. “The employer failed to offer them their old jobs back in compliance with the law.”
After investigating Hyatt Regency’s recall practices, the agency issued a citation to Hyatt Regency for $4,799,563.84in liquidated damages and interest owed to dozens of workers and civil penalties for the hotel’s alleged failure to recall, or timely recall, workers laid-off due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11, the hospitality workers’ union that fought for the law and helped the workers file complaints, said, “The Hyatt Regency in Long Beach has treated its veteran workers like they are disposable. This kind of behavior is not only immoral, but as the agency’s massive citation shows, it can also be illegal.” He continued, “I commend the Labor Commissioner for conducting such a thorough investigation and showing that our worker protection laws have real teeth.”
/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpg00UNITE HERE Local 11/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpgUNITE HERE Local 112023-10-17 13:22:252023-10-30 13:29:24PRESS RELEASE; CA Labor Commissioner Issues $4.8 Million Citation to Hyatt Regency Long Beach for Failing to Rehire Laid Off Workers
/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpg00UNITE HERE Local 11/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpgUNITE HERE Local 112023-10-17 11:47:462023-10-26 11:50:43LA TIMES: Long Beach hotel fined $4.8 million for failing to rehire workers laid off during COVID-19 shutdown
Long Beach, CA: Over a hundred hospitality workers, Long Beach community leaders, and their allies testified and attended the Long Beach City Council meeting on Tuesday in favor of putting an initiative on the 2024 ballot that would put the city on a pathway to raise the wage for hospitality workers to $25 per hour.
The council voted unanimously to direct city staff to draft the policy that would go on the March 2024 ballot.
Yadira Aguilar, a housekeeper at the Hyatt Centric said “As a single mother, a better wage would mean I could better provide for my family. I pay $1,900 in rent and also take care of my sick mother in Mexico. It is hospitality workers like myself who make Long Beach run. Thank you to the council for hearing our voices.”
Ada Briceño, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11 said, “During the pandemic, our members lost their livelihoods overnight and since then the tourism industry has bounced back with the help of billions in PPP loans. Hotels are now near maximum capacity, and making record profits. Thank you to the Long Beach City Council for voting to put hospitality workers and their families first.”
Grecia Lopez-Reyez, Director for Long Beach for a Just Economy said. “A ballot measure is an opportunity for voters to decide to raise the wage again for hospitality workers who are the backbone of a profitable industry. When workers thrive, we all thrive.”
“Long Beach’s tourism and hospitality industry plays a pivotal role in our local economy, and workers are the backbone of the industry. While the Long Beach City Council voted to forward a ballot measure to amend the Long Beach Hotel Worker Wage Ordinance by increasing the minimum wage, voters will ultimately decide in the March 2024 municipal election. I hope voters will vote to support it.” said Long Beach Councilmember Saro.
The push to raise the wage for Long Beach hospitality workers comes as the tourism industry has seen record revenue while workers struggle to stay housed and provide for their families.
Similar initiatives are being considered in other cities in the region, including Los Angeles, Anaheim, and Santa Monica. The council is expected to come back for a final vote on October 24, 2023.
https://www.unitehere11.org/wp-content/uploads/longbeachhearing3-1.jpg563750UNITE HERE Local 11/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpgUNITE HERE Local 112023-09-20 10:09:472023-09-28 12:23:18RELEASE: Long Beach City Council Votes to Put $25 Initiative on 2024 Ballot, Hospitality Workers Rally In Favor
/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpg00UNITE HERE Local 11/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpgUNITE HERE Local 112023-08-22 10:52:092023-08-23 10:54:14LBBJ: A union protest at a Hotel Maya wedding turned violent. Who’s to blame?
NEW: See the full video for the first time of Security @HotelMayaDT forcibly relocated striking workers w/ chain link fence while a guest ran around the fence & punched a worker in the head. pic.twitter.com/uZLrZnaYKG
/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpg00UNITE HERE Local 11/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpgUNITE HERE Local 112023-08-22 10:13:282023-08-28 10:17:59MUST SEE VIDEO FROM HOTEL MAYA
“I think what management was trying to do was divide us. But I think it backfired and it brought us together and closer,” said David, bellman at the @HotelMayaDT, about the latest outbreak of violence against hotel workers protesting.
/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpg00UNITE HERE Local 11/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpgUNITE HERE Local 112023-08-15 18:44:462023-11-15 12:01:54NBCLA: Hotel Workers and Security Clash at Strike
TWO MORE WINS!
7 New Hotels, Including Hotel Maya Long Beach, Sign with UNITE HERE Local 11, Raising the Total to 41 Agreements
PRESS RELEASE: April 23, 2024
PRESS CONTACT: Maria Hernandez | 623-340-8047 | [email protected]
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.”
###
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 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.
###
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
LB BUSINESS JOURNAL: Mayor chastises Hotel Maya owners over ‘pattern of violence’ against union protesters
PRESS RELEASE; CA Labor Commissioner Issues $4.8 Million Citation to Hyatt Regency Long Beach for Failing to Rehire Laid Off Workers
Signed into law in 2021, SB-93 requires hotels, event centers, and other hospitality businesses to offer employees whom they laid off due the COVID-19 downturn in tourism an opportunity to return to work in open positions for which they are qualified in order of seniority. The law, recently extended until December 31, 2024, provides job protection to some 700,000 laid-off housekeepers, cooks, waiters, and others across the state.
Rigoberto Villagrana, who was laid off by the Hyatt Regency after working at the hotel since 1996, said, “Being laid off during the pandemic has been devastating for me and my family. We’ve struggled to pay our mortgage and keep food on the table. I am really glad to see the state stepping in to make sure Hyatt Regency complies with the law.”
The Labor Commissioner’s Office, which is led by Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower, conducted an investigation in response to complaints from workers alleging violations of the recall law.
“Some of these employees had as much as 24 years of experience, and were suddenly out of work due to a public health emergency,” said Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower. “The employer failed to offer them their old jobs back in compliance with the law.”
After investigating Hyatt Regency’s recall practices, the agency issued a citation to Hyatt Regency for $4,799,563.84 in liquidated damages and interest owed to dozens of workers and civil penalties for the hotel’s alleged failure to recall, or timely recall, workers laid-off due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11, the hospitality workers’ union that fought for the law and helped the workers file complaints, said, “The Hyatt Regency in Long Beach has treated its veteran workers like they are disposable. This kind of behavior is not only immoral, but as the agency’s massive citation shows, it can also be illegal.” He continued, “I commend the Labor Commissioner for conducting such a thorough investigation and showing that our worker protection laws have real teeth.”
LA TIMES: Long Beach hotel fined $4.8 million for failing to rehire workers laid off during COVID-19 shutdown
RELEASE: Long Beach City Council Votes to Put $25 Initiative on 2024 Ballot, Hospitality Workers Rally In Favor
Long Beach, CA: Over a hundred hospitality workers, Long Beach community leaders, and their allies testified and attended the Long Beach City Council meeting on Tuesday in favor of putting an initiative on the 2024 ballot that would put the city on a pathway to raise the wage for hospitality workers to $25 per hour.
The council voted unanimously to direct city staff to draft the policy that would go on the March 2024 ballot.
Yadira Aguilar, a housekeeper at the Hyatt Centric said “As a single mother, a better wage would mean I could better provide for my family. I pay $1,900 in rent and also take care of my sick mother in Mexico. It is hospitality workers like myself who make Long Beach run. Thank you to the council for hearing our voices.”
Grecia Lopez-Reyez, Director for Long Beach for a Just Economy said. “A ballot measure is an opportunity for voters to decide to raise the wage again for hospitality workers who are the backbone of a profitable industry. When workers thrive, we all thrive.”
The push to raise the wage for Long Beach hospitality workers comes as the tourism industry has seen record revenue while workers struggle to stay housed and provide for their families.
Similar initiatives are being considered in other cities in the region, including Los Angeles, Anaheim, and Santa Monica. The council is expected to come back for a final vote on October 24, 2023.
LBBJ: A union protest at a Hotel Maya wedding turned violent. Who’s to blame?
MUST SEE VIDEO FROM HOTEL MAYA
NBCLA: Hotel Workers and Security Clash at Strike