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UNITE HERE Local 11

IT’S OFFICIAL! LONG BEACH CITY COUNCIL PASSES THE OLYMPIC WAGE!

The Long Beach City Council had a final vote to raise the wage for concession workers at the airport and convention center to $29.50/hour by the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028. The policy extends protections to future workers at the Long Beach Bowl, a highly anticipated waterfront venue adjacent to the Queen Mary that will be the second-largest outdoor amphitheater in L.A. County.

Thanks to this victory, concession workers are now brought up to the same wage standard that was won by hotel workers when Long Beach voters approved Measure RW, which went into effect just over a year ago.

This victory was only made possible through our broad coalition of 75 local community organizations, 206 small businesses, and thousands of voters who overwhelmingly passed higher wages for our Long Beach tourism workers through Measure RW.

WINNING THE OLYMPIC WAGE IN LONG BEACH!

On July 22, the Long Beach City Council voted to raise the wage for concession workers at the airport and convention center to $29.50/hour by the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028. Thanks to this victory, concessions workers are now at the same wage standard that hotel workers secured when Long Beach voters approved Measure RW, which went into effect just over a year ago. 

You can read more about this Victory here!

July 2025

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VICTORY AT THE ANAHEIM CONVENTION CENTER!

Congratulations to Aramark workers at the Anaheim Convention Center who voted to ratify their new contract!

COMPASS WORKERS ON STRIKE!

Workers at the DreamWorks Animation Studios Cafeteria Operated by Compass Group Subsidiary went ON STRIKE!! Workers have been fighting for better wages, healthcare, and other benefits since last year.

PHOENIX HEAT & SAFETY ORDINANCE

Earlier this month, Sky Chef workers testified to Phoenix City Council that their employer didn’t have working air conditioning units in their trucks. Workers driving to the airport to deliver food for flights, sit in 100+ degree heat sometimes for hours. Check out the full story at the link in our bio.

LA NON-VIOLENT DIRECT ACTION TRAINING

On July 10th, the labor movement gathered over 1,400 workers, clergy members, and other justice allies to participate in a Nonviolent Direct Action Training.
The LA Federation of Labor, UNITE HERE Local 11, UCLA Labor Center, CLUE, UFCW, AFSCME, SEIU, UAW, and other unions are taking on the role to train activists from all over Southern California in the tradition of Civil Rights Movement teachings pioneered by the late Reverend James M. Lawson.
Reverend Lawson had a long history teaching Local 11 leaders the practice of non-violent direct action. We honor him by continuing to follow in his footsteps.

Survey: 2 in 3 Santa Monica Voters Say Airport Site is Big Enough to Include Both Affordable Housing and Parks & Open Space

Report: 2 in 3 Santa Monica Voters Support Multiple Uses on Airport Site

Read the memo: 2 in 3 Santa Monica Voters Say Airport Site is Big Enough to Include Both Affordable Housing and Parks & Open Space

Improvements to the UNITE HERE Local 11 Health Benefit Fund

The UNITE HERE Local 11 Health Benefit Fund (formerly Santa Monica UNITE HERE Health Benefit Fund) is making several key changes to improve services and accessibility for participants.

Beginning August 1, 2025, the Fund will be making some big changes to how we serve our participants. We’ve been working over the last year to improve fund administration including the following:

  1. New Member Services Team
    • Personalized support for health benefits.
    • Same contact number: 866-345-5189
  2. New Secure Member Portal
    • Easier online management of benefits and updates.
    • New portal site: benefits11.org
  3. New Office Location
    • Inside the new UNITE HERE Health Center, with free parking.
    • New Address:
      UNITE HERE Local 11 Health Benefit Fund
      1122 W. Washington Blvd, Suite 300
      Los Angeles, CA 90015
      Phone: 866-345-5189 | Email: [email protected]
  4. New Name and Logo
    • Fund renamed to UNITE HERE Local 11 Health Benefit Fund to better represent its participants.

These updates aim to modernize services and make it easier for participants to access and manage their benefits.

DEFEND THE WAGE

For over two years, tourism workers fought to pass the Olympic Wage in Los Angeles. The bosses launched a multimillion dollar campaign to overturn the law, with top funding from Delta Airlines, United Airlines, and American Hotel and Lodging Association. A hotel industry lobbying group has boasted to its members that delaying implementation for just one year is expected to save the industry more than $114 million, meaning CEOs will have taken this amount of money from workers.
UNITE HERE Local 11 worked with partner unions and organizations to raise awareness among Angelenos of bosses’ attempt to upend the Olympic Wage. More than 121,000 Angelenos submitted forms to revoke their signatures on the bosses’ referendum petition!
We are calling on the LA City Clerk to invalidate the petition altogether.