Local 11 members win. A lot. We are more than 32,000 workers across Southern California and Arizona, and we campaign constantly to improve our workplaces, organize new workers, and build power for working people in our communities. Check out these highlights from our union’s recent victories and learn about all the different ways we are getting stronger in a union.
CHECK OUT OUR RECENT
UNION FIGHTS AND VICTORIES!
Tempe City Council Send Letter To ASU President Over Concerns About Labor Dispute With Aramark
Aramark workers at Arizona State University spoke at the Tempe City Council. Workers have been in a year long contract fight with Aramark over living wages, fair staffing, and health insurance. Workers are struggling to pay basic bills, and are having to sell plasma or pick up second jobs to survive.
In response to their testimony, four Tempe City Council members have sent a letter to Arizona State University President Michael Crow over concerns regarding the University’s food service contractor Aramark and their ongoing labor dispute with food service workers. You can read the full letter here!
Workers at Universal Studios Hollywood Vote to Authorize a Strike
Workers at Universal Studios Hollywood theme park voted over 98% to authorize a strike. Workers have been in negotiations for months with NBCUniversal Comcast, but have failed to reach an agreement.
“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,” said Stephanie, a Cook in the Upper Lot.
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.
Read the complete Press Release.
Qantas Lounge Workers at LAX Vote to Authorize a Strike
Two $$$ Victories at Phoenix Sky Chefs
VICTORY IN SEATTLE!
JETWAY WORKERS WIN A NEW CONTRACT IN LAX
After being without a contract since 2019, Jetway workers at LAX agreed to a new contract that includes tens of thousands of dollars in retro pay! This is the 20th food service contract ratified in LAX in 2026. Sí se puede!
Two Women Sue Flying Food Group Over Alleged Sexual Assaults
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.
Read the rest of the press release here.
Chicago Hotel Workers Vote to Authorize a Strike
DISNEY NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
LA TIMES: Jedi-themed protest outside Lucas Museum targets L.A. Olympics over worker rights
WEHO TIMES: UNITE HERE Local 11 Endorses Byers, Krieger, Post, and Cottrell for West Hollywood City Council – Reject Block and Duran
“Councilmember Chelsea Byers made affordability a centerpiece of her term on Council and has Mayor,” reads a statement from UNITE HERE Local 11. “She is a strong supporter of renter protections and is a proponent of West Hollywood’s nationally celebrated minimum wage law. She has the endorsement of the both the California Working Families Party and the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.”
Local 11 joined the California Working Families Party in endorsing Helen Krieger and Stephen Post for City Council. Local 11 also joined with the Los Angeles County Democratic Party in endorsing Jonathan Cottrell. Krieger also won the support of the LA County Democratic Party. “The UNITE HERE, WFP, and LACDP endorsements make clear that these four candidates are the progressive choices for West Hollywood City Council,” the Union said.
Solidarity with California Nurses Association
SMDP: Hotel union endorses four candidates for three open spots on the City Council
The hospitality workers union UNITE HERE Local 11 is urging voters to support four candidates for Santa Monica City Council ahead of November’s election — Mayor Caroline Torosis, Rent Control Board member Danny Ivanov, Brett Morrow and Doug Trussler — while explicitly opposing two others, Lana Negrete and Phil Brock.
Paid for by UNITE HERE Local 11 PAC
Not authorized by a candidate or committee controlled by a candidate
THE HILTON CHECKERS WORKERS NEED OUR HELP!
On September 4, the workers at the Hilton Checkers in downtown Los Angeles filed for a union election with UNITE HERE Local 11. The company responded with an aggressive anti-union campaign.
The union has filed unfair labor practice charges alleging that the company threatened that if workers unionized, the hotel could close and workers could face immigration-related consequences.
These workers need our support now. Please call Ryan Perera, general manager, or Maria Marroquin, HR manager at (213) 624-0000 to tell him the threats must stop.
Local 11 Endorses Nithya Raman for Mayor of Los Angeles
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!”
Read the press release here
Lawsuit Filed Against Long Beach Yacht Club for Alleged Pregnancy-Based Harassment and Retaliation
According to the lawsuit, the Yacht Club’s executive chef insulted the worker’s work ethic when she requested shorter shifts because of her pregnancy and questioned whether such accommodations were necessary. The executive chef allegedly mocked her 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 her 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.
Read the full press release here.