UNITE HERE Local 11 & Western States Regional Council of Carpenters Ran L.A.’s Largest Election Operation for Nithya Raman and Marissa Roy

LOS ANGELES: UNITE HERE Local 11 and the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters ran the largest field operation in this election. By election night, members will have knocked on 170,000 doors, made 1.5 million phone calls, and spoken to 50,000 voters for Nithya Raman for Mayor, Marissa Roy for City Attorney, Yes on Proposition 40, and No on Proposition 39.

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.

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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.