BREAKING NEWS: Loews Hollywood Reaches Union Agreement; Strikes Continue in Downtown LA and Other SoCal Hotels

Los Angeles, CA: After a historic summer of strikes, UNITE HERE Local 11 and Loews Hollywood have reached a tentative agreement. The Loews Hollywood joins the Westin Bonaventure and the historic Biltmore Los Angeles in signing an agreement with their workers.

“I am extremely glad we came to an agreement that helps us and the hotel move forward, Maria Camarena, housekeeper of 21 years. “My coworkers and I never gave up, and we will continue to support other hotel workers as they continue to fight for what they deserve too.”

Once the contract is ratified, the nearly 300 workers at the Loews Hollywood will enjoy:

  • Unprecedented wage increases that keep pace with the soaring cost of housing in Southern California
  • Affordable, excellent family healthcare
  • Humane workloads and safe staffing
  • Improved pension increases so that workers can retire with dignity
  • Numerous improvements, including historic Equal Justice language that, among other things, will provide access to union jobs for formerly incarcerated individuals and ban the use of E-Verify in hiring.

The Loews Hollywood, Biltmore Los Angeles, and the Westin Bonaventure have emerged as leaders in providing fair wages and benefits for its workers and superior service for guests. At the same time, dozens of other hotels, including those with far higher room rates such as the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton LA Live, Beverly Hilton, and Fairmont Miramar, continue to refuse to provide a living wage.

 “Our team members are at the core of what makes Loews the company it is,” said Vincent Piro, Managing Director, Loews Hollywood Hotel. “We are thrilled to be in agreement with our partners at UNITE HERE Local 11 and look forward to continuing to deliver exceptional experiences for our guests, fellow team members and neighbors.”

“We are pleased to announce our settlement with the Loews Hollywood,” said Kurt Petersen, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11. “Three of the biggest LA hotels  – including the largest in downtown and Hollywood – have decided to put their workers and our city first.  It is time for the rest of the industry to share their prosperity with their workers. ”

CITY ON THE EDGE

District Attorney George Gascon Announces Investigation into Hotels’ Alleged Exploitation of Unhoused Refugees, says UNITE HERE Local 11

Santa Monica –  Today, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced he will launch an investigation concerning hotels’ alleged exploitation of unhoused refugees during recent hotel strikes. 

District Attorney George Gascón emphatically declared, “We take these egregious allegations with the utmost seriousness. The mistreatment of vulnerable workers and their exploitation will not be tolerated. We will conduct an exhaustive investigation, working closely with UNITE HERE Local 11 and other stakeholders to ensure strict compliance with labor laws and protect the rights and dignity of all workers.”

Many of the agency’s workers are refugees, hailing from countries as far away as Venezuela, and some are temporarily staying at the Union Rescue Mission, a shelter on Skid Row.

The refugees include workers who entered the country to seek asylum in Texas and were part of Texas Governor Abbott’s shameful publicity stunt of bussing workers to other states.

The hotel workers’ union UNITE HERE Local 11 asked DA Gascón to launch an investigation regarding potential violations by hotels and their subcontractors of wage and child labor laws. In one instance, a minor is alleged to have missed school in order to work at a hotel. Some of the refugees reported receiving paychecks with little to no documentation regarding hours worked.

The union and immigrant rights groups are calling on the region’s hotels and the government to ensure that the unhoused refugees have jobs where their rights are respected as well as safe and dignified housing.

Refugee worker from Venezuela, Sebastian stated, “I entered a situation where I didn’t even know which agency was hiring me, how much I was going to earn, how many hours I was going to work, much less my rights as a worker.”

UNITE HERE Local 11 Co-President Ada Briceño denounced the hotels’ actions. “The hypocrisy of the employers like Le Meridien Delfina is staggering,” Briceño said, “Thank you to District Attorney Gascón’s leadership on this issue. We will not stand by while that happens, our union is committed to continue fighting for all workers.”

State Senator Maria Elena Durazo also stated, “{California} is better than this, and we will continue to stand with these workers in Santa Monica and anywhere else they may face these awful conditions.”

“I’m outraged that Santa Monica hotels have resorted to exploiting the desperation of recent immigrants while their current employees fight for living wages and safe working conditions. It is indefensible that hotels would resort to employing vulnerable, newly-arrived refugees during an ongoing labor dispute with their employees, the vast majority of whom are immigrants themselves,” said Angelica Salas, Executive Director of CHIRLA.

This as next week thousands of tourists, film lovers, and film industry workers will pour into Santa Monica the American Film Market next week, their stays and visits to AFM events in several Santa Monica hotels may be worked by vulnerable, unhoused, and unprotected immigrants.

Pledge to Boycott LA

A white banner outside the DoubleTree San Pedro hotel

San Pedro Housekeepers File Class Action Suit Against DoubleTree Alleging Violations of LA Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance

LOS ANGELES—Today, a longtime housekeeper at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel San Pedro filed a class action lawsuit against the hotel alleging violations of the Los Angeles Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance, which the City of Los Angeles adopted in June 2022. While similar ordinances have passed in Irvine, Seattle, Oakland, Santa Monica, Emeryville, Glendale, West Hollywood, and Long Beach, this is the first lawsuit to be brought under the Los Angeles Ordinance. The workers are represented by Lauren Teukolsky of Teukolsky Law and Zoe Tucker of UNITE HERE Local 11.

The ordinance protects Los Angeles hotel workers against the risk of sexual assault by implementing panic buttons and other measures, and it guarantees housekeepers fair compensation when their workloads exceed prescribed limits.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that even after DoubleTree housekeepers reported several violations out of concern for their wellbeing, the hotel failed to comply with the safety provisions of the ordinance, which went into effect in August 2022. The lawsuit alleges that the DoubleTree failed to provide functioning panic buttons, failed to hire 24-hour security to respond to panic button calls, delayed for months to post the required notice of the ordinance on guest room and restroom doors, and failed to provide adequate training to workers.

Plaintiff Bethsabe Alvarez, who has worked as a housekeeper at the DoubleTree for more than 15 years, said, “It is frustrating that my coworkers and I fought so hard to pass this law for our own safety as housekeepers, but it’s been over a year and we still don’t have full-time security or working panic buttons. We do not feel valued as human beings.”

Lauren Teukolsky, who represents the workers, adds, “We hope this lawsuit sends a message to all Los Angeles hotels that they are required to comply with the ordinance immediately. Housekeepers should not have to risk their own personal safety for a paycheck.”

###

PRESS RELEASE; CA Labor Commissioner Issues $4.8 Million Citation to Hyatt Regency Long Beach for Failing to Rehire Laid Off Workers

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 $4,799,563.84 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.”