CASE Action, UNITE HERE Local 11 activists find new ways to urge Senate to pass Freedom To Vote Act
Phoenix: Yesterday, activists with UNITE HERE Local 11 and CASE Action entered the fifth day of their hunger strike to urge elected leaders to pass critical voting rights legislation by gathering outside of Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s office to deliver a message—and a cake.
Four helpers accompanied the group of half a dozen hunger strikers in wheelchairs and red sashes to carry the 200-serving cake iced with the message “Voting Rights Now”–an invitation to Senator Sinema to join in the campaigns to secure voting rights. Along with the cake, the Arizona hunger strikers attempted to deliver their handwritten letters to Senator Sinema expressing concern about her inaction on voting rights. Senator Sinema’s staff did not accept the cake or their letters.
“We came here to tell Senator Sinema that we hope she will deliver voting rights for the people of Arizona,” said Marilyn Wilbur, hunger striker with CASE Action and 18-year US Air Force veteran. “No matter what happens, I will continue to fight for the voting rights we deserve.”
“Voting Rights Now” was also the message on banners held by fellow hunger strikers today who took arrest on the steps of the U.S. Senate while the body began debate on the Freedom to Vote: John Lewis Act.
“What these strikers have done to protect our right to vote is creating a generational impact. We are with you for what comes next as we continue to build our beloved community,” said Dr. Jannah Scott of the African American Christian Clergy Coalition.
“I have faith that my sacrifice of going four days without eating has told Senator Sinema and all of Congress that I will keep doing whatever it takes to be on the right side of the history of this beautiful country,” said Irma Pacheco, a hunger striker in Arizona with CASE Action and UNITE HERE Local 11.
In the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of laid off cooks, housekeepers, dishwashers, and bartenders with CASE Action and UNITE HERE Local 11 knocked on a million doors to win Arizona for Biden, and delivered two U.S Senate seats in Georgia.
Last year, the Arizona state legislature passed laws that hurt both workers and voters by purging early permanent voting rolls and other harmful anti-voter changes. Since the 2020 election, state legislatures across the country have introduced hundreds of bills that make it harder for working people and people of color to vote.
CASE Action Fund is an economic justice organization dedicated to improving the lives of Arizona’s working families through policy advocacy and increasing participation in the political process
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Unions Must Help Salvage Democracy
La Alerta January 19–25, 2022 option 2
Our union proudly endorses Kevin de León for Mayor of LA & Lindsey Horvath for LA County Supervisor.
Reyna Diaz, a room attendant at Hotel Indigo in downtown LA says, “We know Kevin de León has the courage to build a city that is affordable and where workers are treated with dignity and respect on the job.”
Sandra Pellecer, who has worked as a cook in West Hollywood hotels for 16 years, says, “Lindsey Horvath fought for us and I’m proud to stand with her. The new minimum wage in West Hollywood will change my life, the lives of hotel workers across town, and all workers.”
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2/3: LA hotel worker protection ordinance meeting for housekeepers
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La Alerta January 19–25, 2022
Sierra Club, Climate Action Campaign, and Hotel Workers’ Union Call on Escondido City Council to replace JC Resorts as Golf Course Operator and Consider Alternative Uses for the Site
PRESS ADVISORY: 1/25/2022
PRESS CONTACT: Jordan Fein
[email protected]
312-576-5048
Reidy Creek Golf Course in Escondido has presented challenges for taxpayers, and presents opportunity for housing and open space in order to save water and natural resources used to maintain the course.
Escondido, CA – On Wednesday, January 26, the City of Escondido will consider a request for proposals for the management of Reidy Creek Golf Course and Concessions. The City’s ten-year contract with JC Resorts expires on June 30, 2022.
A coalition of hotel workers’ union locals and environmental groups are calling on the City to replace current Reidy Creek operator, JC Resorts, and reconsider the use of the site as a golf course altogether.
The course has presented challenges for Escondido taxpayers. The San Diego Union-Tribune called the course a “municipal money pit” in October 2018. Since 2018, Escondido taxpayers have continued to subsidize the Reidy Creek course.
The coalition is urging the City to consider alternative uses for the site, such as housing and open space. The average 18-hole golf course reportedly uses almost 90 million gallons of water per year. As referenced in the San Diego Climate Action Campaign’s “Solving Sprawl” report, repurposing municipal golf courses like Reidy Creek into open space and other uses would save water and natural resources used to maintain the course.
The organizations will deliver public comment during Wednesday night’s council meeting and continue to push for an alternative vision for Reidy Creek as the contract expiration date nears.
UNITE HERE Local 11 Endorses “Living Wage Hero” Lindsey Horvath for Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Danielle Wilson | dwilson[at]unitehere11[dot]org | 818-534-799nine
Los Angeles – UNITE HERE Local 11 is proud to endorse West Hollywood City Councilmember Lindsey Horvath for Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors District 3. She was a decisive vote in passing the highest citywide minimum wage in the country.
Horvath’s victory on the minimum wage wasn’t easy. As early as 2015, the young Councilmember led the “Fight for $15” in West Hollywood, but despite her advocacy the then-City Council did not pass her proposal. This past summer Horvath became Mayor of the city, and things started to change. Mayor Horvath fought for and won groundbreaking legislation to protect hotel housekeepers from sexual assault, give them the right to return to their jobs by seniority amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and to improve the minimum wage to make sure housekeepers are fairly compensated for heavy workloads. Just months later, Horvath was the deciding vote to pass the highest minimum wage in the country at $17.64, making West Hollywood a national leader on policy for working people.
“Lindsey exemplifies what it means to be a public servant who fights for working people,” said Kurt Petersen, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11. “Our members can count on her no matter what, and that’s who we need to send to the Board of Supervisors.”
“The new minimum wage in West Hollywood will change my life, the lives of hotel workers across town, and all workers,” said Sandra Pellecer, who has worked as a cook in West Hollywood hotels for 16 years. “Lindsey Horvath fought for us and I’m proud to stand with her.”
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UNITE HERE Local 11 is a labor union representing 32,000 members who work in hotels, restaurants, universities, convention centers, and airports.
La Alerta January 12–19, 2022
Hunger Strike for Voting Rights Day 5: Hunger strikers deliver massive cake iced with “Voting Rights Now” to Senator Sinema
Phoenix: Yesterday, activists with UNITE HERE Local 11 and CASE Action entered the fifth day of their hunger strike to urge elected leaders to pass critical voting rights legislation by gathering outside of Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s office to deliver a message—and a cake.
“We came here to tell Senator Sinema that we hope she will deliver voting rights for the people of Arizona,” said Marilyn Wilbur, hunger striker with CASE Action and 18-year US Air Force veteran. “No matter what happens, I will continue to fight for the voting rights we deserve.”
“What these strikers have done to protect our right to vote is creating a generational impact. We are with you for what comes next as we continue to build our beloved community,” said Dr. Jannah Scott of the African American Christian Clergy Coalition.
In the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of laid off cooks, housekeepers, dishwashers, and bartenders with CASE Action and UNITE HERE Local 11 knocked on a million doors to win Arizona for Biden, and delivered two U.S Senate seats in Georgia.
CASE Action Fund is an economic justice organization dedicated to improving the lives of Arizona’s working families through policy advocacy and increasing participation in the political process
La Alerta January 12–19, 2022 v2
UNITE HERE Local 11 and CASE Action launched a hunger strike to urge our elected leaders in Congress to protect our freedom to vote.
Read more: ‘Voting rights affect all of us’: Workers unions begin hunger strike at Arizona Capitol
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