Notification re Implementation of new Disneyland Resort Attendance Policy

Dear Disney UNITE HERE Local 11 members,

In May 2022, Disney proposed a new Attendance policy and then met with a Union committee. In response to Union proposals, the company agreed to a number of improvements:

  1. Extra time: Disney will not implement the new system until October 2nd.
  2. Training and Communication: Disney will begin rolling out information on the policy to all cast on July 1
  3. Disney agreed to add more hours – 25 missed unexcused hours for a discipline – and respect the same hours for FT and CR
  4. Disney also upped hours to 17 and tardies to 3 for CT
  5. Disney agreed to add an additional disciplinary step for Cast Members with 5 years or more of service – this means FIVE steps to attendance termination for senior employees.

Disney has now issued their new, final Attendance policy; see attached.  Disney will be conducting trainings soon on this new policy; let the Union know if you have questions.

07.19.2022 – DLR Attendance Policy Final here

Notificación sobre la implementación de la nueva política de asistencia de Disneyland Resort

Estimados miembros de UNITE HERE Local 11 en Disney :

En mayo de 2022, Disney propuso una nueva política de asistencia y luego se reunió con un comité sindical. En respuesta a las propuestas de la Unión, la empresa acordó una serie de mejoras:

  1. Tiempo extra: Disney no implementará el nuevo sistema hasta el 2 de octubre.
  2. Capacitación y comunicación: Disney comenzará a brindar información sobre la política a todo el elenco el 1 de julio.
  3. Disney acordó agregar más horas (25 horas injustificadas perdidas por una disciplina) y respetar las mismas horas para FT y CR
  4. Disney también aumentó las horas a 17 y las tardanzas a 3 para CT
  5. Disney acordó agregar un paso disciplinario adicional para los Miembros del Elenco con 5 años o más de servicio, lo que significa CINCO pasos para la terminación de la asistencia para los empleados senior.

Disney ahora ha emitido su nueva política de asistencia final; ver adjunto. Disney realizará capacitaciones pronto sobre esta nueva política; hágale saber al Sindicato si tiene preguntas.

California Labor Commissioner Delivers Checks to Terranea Resort Workers Whose Rights to Return to Work Were Violated

California Labor Commissioner Delivers Checks to Terranea Resort Workers Whose Rights to Return to Work Were Violated

Los Angeles, CA-  The Labor Commissioner’s Office has begun distributing more than $1.5 million to 57 workers laid off at Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes during the COVID-19 pandemic who were not offered job positions promptly as required by the Right to Recall Law.

The distribution of checks to workers began during an in-person press conference led by Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower.  The Labor Commissioner’s Office cited Terranea alleging violations of the recall law in March and subsequently reached a settlement with the resort, resulting in the payments for workers.  More information regarding the citation is available here.

Virginia Eredia, who was laid off by the Terranea after working nearly six years as a turndown attendant.  Eredia said: “After losing my job, I lost my house, my car, and had to go into a lot of debt. This money will help ease some of that and will help me buy a car to get to work. I would have never received this had I not chosen to stand up for my rights. I hope other hotel workers see this and know what is possible.”

Terranea workers were at the forefront of the campaign to enact SB-93. The resort had terminated most of its employees without making a binding commitment to rehire them and cut off their healthcare at the beginning of the 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: “When the Terranea Resort exploited the pandemic to fire most of their workers, the hotel caused incalculable chaos and harm on those workers and their families. Rather than walking away, these brave workers decided to fight to return to their jobs.  And today we celebrate their victory and courage.  We also want to thank the Labor Commissioner and her staff for their extraordinary effort to return these workers back to work.”

The distribution of checks resolves the first case brought under California’s recently-enacted Right to Recall Law.  Signed into law last year, 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 statute provides job protections to some 700,000 housekeepers, cooks, waiters, and other laid off workers.

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UNITE HERE Local 11 is a labor union representing over 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona who work in hotels, restaurants, universities, convention centers, and airports

Environmental Groups and UNITE HERE Local 11 Call Out Terranea “Eco-Resort” Owners Lowe & JC Resorts for Execs’ Funding of Climate Change Deniers

As Congressional climate agenda stalls, environmental activists and UNITE HERE Local 11 press resort owners whose leaders fund anti-environment politicians

Los Angeles: This week a coalition of environmental organizations and allies called out Terranea Resort owners JC Resorts and Lowe for throwing millions at anti-environment politicians and other conservative causes.

The Terranea, a sprawling property along an environmentally sensitive stretch of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, bills itself as a “sustainable” and “eco-friendly” resort.

Yet an open letter to the resort signed by leading environmental groups highlights that since 2012 executives of Terranea’s owners Lowe and JC Resorts have collectively contributed over $2 million to anti-environment Republicans like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Donald Trump and conservative causes like the Koch Brothers’ Americans for Prosperity PAC.

Nico Gardner Serna with Sunrise Movement Los Angeles, a signatory to the letter, said: “As an environmental activist/leader with the Sunrise Movement Los Angeles who was raised in and currently lives in Rancho Palos Verdes, I am deeply concerned about Terranea’s ownership executives making political contributions that stand in the way of our fight against global climate change. Political contributions are moral statements. I would like to see them stop giving money to climate change-denying politicians like Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy, and Lindsey Graham, and instead commit to protecting the land, air, water, and animals in this region.”

In addition to the Sunrise Movement Los Angeles, the open letter is signed by Sierra Club Angeles Chapter, Communities for a Better Environment, CA Environmental Voters (League of Conservation Voters), Physicians for Social Responsibility, LAANE, Labor Network for Sustainability, and the hospitality workers’ union UNITE HERE Local 11.  Examples of political donations highlighted in the letter, which can be accessed here, include the following:

  • House Minority Leader Republican Kevin McCarthy was the largest recipient of Lowe executives’ largesse, receiving $189,800 since 2012. McCarthy received a 3% lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters and has opposed the Biden Administration’s efforts to move the country away from fossil fuels.
  • Robert J. Lowe Sr. contributed $50,000 to the Koch Brothers’ Americans for Prosperity Action (AFPA) from October 9, 2020 through October 1, 2021.  According to the Center for Media and Democracy, “AFP’s messages are in sync with those of other groups funded by Charles Koch—opposing labor unions, health care reform, stimulus spending, and any effort to combat climate change.”
  • Contributions from JC Resorts Chairman Paul Reed included $16,600 to Donald Trump. The New York Times has reported that “the damage done by the greenhouse gas pollution unleashed by President Trump’s rollbacks may prove to be one of the most profound legacies of his single term.”

“As a union, we are committed to ensuring that workers across the hospitality industry work in environments where they and their surrounding communities are treated with dignity and respect. That extends to the natural environment, animals, and habitat.  It is outrageous that executives of the owners of Terranea, a resort billed as environmentally friendly, would be funding the politicians responsible for blocking reform to stop catastrophic climate change,” said Kurt Petersen, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11.

The signatory organizations are calling on “Terranea’s owners Lowe and JC Resorts to immediately stop their leaders from making donations to Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy and Republicans like them who are standing in the way of our fight against global climate change.”

Update on Compass/Levy Labor Dispute at Dodger Stadium

BREAKING NEWS: 07/11/2022

Dodger Stadium Workers Vote 99% to Authorize Strike Ahead of MLB All-Star Game

Workers employed by concessionaire Compass/Levy seek a fair union contract

Los Angeles, CA: Yesterday, stadium workers who work the food and beverage stands operated by concessions giant Compass Group and Levy Restaurants at Dodger Stadium voted 99% to strike as Los Angeles gets ready for the All-Star Game. A strike could be called at any moment.
Compass Group is the sixth largest company in the world. Its subsidiary, Levy Restaurants, employs nearly 1,500 food servers, bartenders, suite attendants, cooks and dishwashers at Dodger Stadium, an overwhelming majority of whom are workers of color. These workers are seeking to negotiate a fair new union contract.
“I voted yes to strike because I often have to pick up shifts at the Rose Bowl just to try to make ends meet. I love working at Dodger Stadium and know that our company can do better, ” said Laura Ortiz, bartender for Compass Group and Levy Restaurants, 15 seasons at Dodger Stadium.
“The Dodgers are my life, I even took my engagement pictures at Dodger Stadium. I proudly served Dodger dogs and beers for many years and want our company, Compass/Levy, to recognize our worth and raise standards for all of its stadium workers,” said Sylvia Sosa, bartender for Compass Group and Levy Restaurants, 46 seasons at Dodger Stadium.
“Stadium workers are proud of the role they play to bring fans the best game experience possible. They are the backbone of our tourism and sports industry, yet many struggle to stay housed and to make ends meet. They often live with economic uncertainty because the quality of jobs vary stadium to stadium. No worker should have to continue living like this,” said Susan Minato, Co-President UNITE HERE Local 11.
Earlier this year, stadium workers at SoFi won a pathbreaking union contract that provides for dignified wages, benefits, and other protections. Levy workers at Dodger Stadium are seeking to win the same rights.

Two-Year Anniversary of Andres Guardado’s Death

On June 18, 2020 while working as a security guard in Gardena, LASD deputies shot eighteen-year-old Andres Guardado five times in the back, as reported by two independent autopsies.
Following the two-year anniversary of the death of Andres, we are asking the LA County Board of Supervisors to pass a charter amendment that would bring accountability to the Sheriffs Department. #AdiosVillanueava #JusticeForAndres

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAYOR GARCETTI SIGNS HOTEL WORKER PROTECTION ORDINANCE

LOS ANGELES — Mayor Garcetti today was joined by UNITE HERE Local 11 to sign the Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance into law, ensuring hotel workers’ safety, fair compensation, and improvement of the general work environment.

“Hotel workers are on the frontlines of our economic recovery and their work uplifts Los Angeles and is part of what makes this city an amazing place to visit,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “I am proud to sign this ordinance into law — allowing mothers to spend more time with their children and to feel safe when walking into their place of work. Their hard work and perseverance inspires me and they deserve a fair work environment.”

This new law provides for security measures to protect hotel workers from sexual assault and threatening conduct, and fair compensation through a wage premium for heavy workloads in hotels with over 45 guest rooms. These new provisions will give hotel workers an environment in which they are allowed to thrive.

“Our City’s economy is built around the service industry and hotel workers are the City’s backbone,” said Councilmember Kevin De Leon. “Our city council embraced the legislative authority granted to us by the voters of Los Angeles to ensure that they have a safe workplace and the fair compensation that they deserve. I stand with the hard-working immigrant women and men who make up the hospitality industry in our city, and I’m proud that today Mayor Garcetti signed this ordinance into law.”

“The city’s economic recovery is only as good as that of its hospitality workers. This law will make sure that recovery is fair by providing better wages and protections for some of the workers who bore the brunt of the pandemic,” said Kurt Petersen, Co-President, UNITE HERE Local 11. “Thank you to Mayor Garcetti, Los Angeles City Council and workers who shared their stories with thousands of voters to make this possible.”

“As a hotel housekeeper it inspires me to see Mayor Garcetti sign into law the ordinance I, and hundreds of other hospitality workers spent months gathering over 100,000 signatures for,” said Isela Ramos, hotel housekeeper and member of UNITE HERE Local 11. “At a time when our rights as women and workers are under attack, this law is proof of the tangible change working people can achieve when we take action in our democracy.”