UNITE HERE Local 11 Response to Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games Agreement

BREAKING NEWS: 11/17/2021

UNITE HERE Local 11 Response to Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games Agreement

Los Angeles: For almost six months, the City of Los Angeles has refused to disclose a single clause of the 2028 Games Agreement. Now that the Agreement has been released following a lawsuit from advocates, the absence of public input is all too obvious. The Olympics tourism infrastructure boom can transform the lives of L.A.’s working families, but the Games Agreement, as drafted, fails to take into account some of the most urgent issues our City is facing today:

1.) The Agreement’s proposed “Local Hire Program” and workforce development goals would do very little to ensure the quality of the jobs that will be required to carry out the Games. The proposals are devoid of any concrete commitments to workplace standards; its vague gestures to “diversity” and “opportunity” fall far short of a commitment to good, family-sustaining jobs.

2.) The Games Agreement ignores the underrepresentation and occupational segregation of Black workers within the accommodation and food service jobs that the Games will create. Although the document vaguely gestures to “diversity,” there are no concrete commitments to hire and retain Black workers within the Games.

3.) Despite the fact that Los Angeles is in the midst of an unprecedented housing crisis, the Games Agreement does not mention the word “housing.” It includes no protections against the displacement and increasing unaffordability that have been linked to recent Olympic Games.

It is essential for any governing document of this massive event to prioritize the well-being of low-income Angelenos–the workers who will be delivering the services needed for the Games and who could be forced further out of affordable housing by the development brought on by the Games. Without directly confronting these pressing realities, any Games Agreement the City enters into is a betrayal of the City’s hardest-working and poorest residents.

The Los Angeles City Council must delay the vote on the Olympic Games Agreement until the public has had ample opportunity to weigh in on an agreement that has thus far been shrouded in secrecy. Planning for an event of this scale requires transparency and meaningful input from community groups and working people. If City Council refuses to put affirmative protections in place, Los Angeles risks the same lasting harms that other Olympic host cities have suffered.

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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, stadiums, sport arenas, convention centers, and airports.

 

The West Hollywood City Council voted unanimously to establish the highest minimum wage in the country. And members of UNITE HERE Local 11 were key players in winning this fight. Sí se pudo!

Hospitality Training Academy Awarded $3 Million Federal Grant to Help Workers Impacted by COVID-19

Hospitality Training Academy Awarded $3 Million Federal Grant to Help Workers Impacted by COVID-19

Los Angeles (November 12, 2021): The Hospitality Training Academy (HTA) and its allies revealed the details of the $3 million Federal Grant to help workers impacted by COVID-19. The CAREER National Dislocated Worker Grant will provide underserved workers with high-road employment and career pathways by participation in registered union apprenticeships and training programs in the hospitality, construction, and retail food industries.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has left far too many people out of work, struggling through no fault of their own to support themselves and their families – so beyond job training, this grant is an investment in creating more stable, supportive workplaces and families, in lifting families out of poverty, and in providing historically marginalized and underserved communities with tangible opportunities. It’s about Building Back Better – and this is just the beginning,” said Congressman Schiff, U.S. House of Representatives, 28th Congressional District. “I am excited to hear the Hospitality Training Academy’s stories of success and of the people they help succeed.”

The occasion was celebrated at HTA’s Culinary Training Kitchen in Los Angeles with elected officials U.S Congressmember Schiff, State Senator Durazo, County officials, and Representatives from HTA, UNITE HERE Local 11, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, United Food and Commercial Workers, LA/OC Building & Construction Trades Council, and Apprenticeship Readiness Fund.

“I am excited about the $3 million grant to the Hospitality Training Academy. A workforce development grant to train men and women in the hospitality industry is the kind of initiative we need more of across California and throughout the country. We know that the hospitality industry is one of the hardest hit during the pandemic and that low-paid workers are the most severely impacted. This federal grant will ensure that HTA has the resources it needs to continue to create good jobs with upward mobility in the hospitality, food service, and tourism industries and help get workers back on their feet! The grant will also help businesses recruit and train highly qualified individuals, which is highly needed,” said California State Senator Maria Elena Durazo 24th District.

The event highlighted how programs like CAREER Grant are the key to ensuring that those hardest hit by the pandemic can recover through training and placement in good union jobs. In addition to claiming the lives of our fellow Angelenos, the COVID-19 crisis has pushed so many of them to the brink of poverty. Projects like the CAREER Grant are essential to our economic recovery and to lifting so many of our essential workers out of poverty and into stable work environments.

“We are proud of the work we have done with our employer and government partners at the city, county, state and federal level to put people back to work in good union jobs and safe environments” said Susan Minato Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11 and Chair of Board of Trustees for Hospitality Training Academy.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, HTA and UNITE HERE Local 11 have served more than 4.5 million meals to Los Angeles County’s most vulnerable community members through the “Serving Our Community” program. The meals were cooked by partner employers like JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton LA LIVE, Pomona College, and The Beverly Hilton – among others – and then delivered by taxi cabs and airport shuttles. Created to address the urgent needs of low-income Angelenos, the program employed 1,364 previously laid-off and experienced professionals ensuring continuity of service at keystone employers that are a fiscal engine in our region; and providing meals to at-risk populations.

“The Hospitality Training Academy and UNITE HERE Local 11 changed my life and provided me with skills needed to walk into a job and feel prepared. I am proud to have taken part in the Serving Our Community Program providing meals to those who needed it most. Thanks to my union, I was able to maintain my healthcare for my kids while working at the Sheraton Grand serving meals as part of this program.” said Fretecia Johnson member of UNITE HERE Local 11 and Hospitality Training Academy alumni.

B-Roll link to event footage and cooking and preparing meals here. 

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About: 

CAREER Grant (Comprehensive and Accessible Reemployment through Equitable Employment Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grant) comes through the U.S. Department of Labor at a critical time. This multi-industry project will provide job training to two-hundred unemployed workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare them for placement in high-wage, stable union jobs with benefits.

The Hospitality Training Academy (HTA) provides a variety of workforce development, apprenticeship, ESL, and training programs to train low-income, marginalized individuals for jobs in the hospitality and foodservice industry.

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.

UNITE HERE Local 11 Leads Fight As West Hollywood City Council Approves Highest Minimum Wage in the Country

BREAKING NEWS: 11/04/2021

West Hollywood: Just past midnight, the West Hollywood City Council voted unanimously to establish a citywide minimum wage of $17.64, including 96 hours of paid sick leave and other benefits. While this measure aligns West Hollywood hotel workers with those in Santa Monica and Los Angeles who have earned $17.64 since July of this year, the wage increase for workers in all other industries is unprecedented.

“Our union is proud to have led the fight to pass a living wage in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and now West Hollywood. Workers across all industries, especially in hotels who have been hardest hit by the pandemic deserve a living wage. Tonight’s council vote is proof of the bold leadership and action needed to ensure workers recover from the effects of this pandemic,” said Kurt Petersen, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11.

This victory is a culmination of an effort that UNITE HERE Local 11, Councilmember Horvath and then Councilmember Heilman started back in 2016 to raise the citywide minimum wage to $15, which failed on a 2-3 vote.

“Having a living wage will not only help me and my co-workers, but every single worker in the city of West Hollywood. I know that with the current wages, we cannot live in the city we’ve helped build,” said Norma Hernandez, a housekeeper at the Mondrian Hotel. “Thank you for passing this living wage and ensuring that workers like me can be a part of this city’s recovery.”

This is the second time since July, the West Hollywood City Council has voted to stand with workers hit hardest by the pandemic. Following efforts by UNITE HERE Local 11 and after hearing from hotel workers across the city, the council approved one of the most progressive hotel worker protection laws in the country ensuring fair compensation for heavy workloads, right of recall, training, and panic buttons for all hotel workers

FIFA 2026 Letter

FIFA Letter 10.12.21. (1) (2)

UNITE HERE Local 11 Members Launch Campaign for More Fair 2028 Olympic Games 

Click here to read the report

Hospitality workers demand Los Angeles leaders include them in the decision-making process

Los Angeles: Today, UNITE HERE Local 11 released a report outlining its vision for what the 2028 Olympic Games could look like for workers and residents of Los Angeles as the city council is set to vote in the coming weeks on a games agreement.

Hospitality workers hold signs reading "Good jobs now!!" and "Good housing now!!" outside Los Angeles City Hall

The city plans to enter into the Olympic Games Agreement with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and LA28, the private nonprofit responsible for the 2028 Games, by November 1. Despite multiple public records requests by UNITE HERE Local 11, no details of what is actually in the agreement have been made public.

The 32,000 members of UNITE HERE Local 11 assert that the professional tourism workers who will make these events successful must be among those who benefit from these decisions. The Olympics Games must succeed in three key areas:

Good hospitality jobs: For the Olympics to benefit our communities, we need to ensure that the workers whose labor will make the Games possible have good, family-sustaining jobs.

“The stadiums and event centers that host the Olympic athletes and guests are our stadiums, and they need to provide people with good jobs that give us a fighting chance for a better life,” said Ana Diaz, member of UNITE HERE Local 11 and food service worker at Banc of California Stadium.

Hiring and retention of Black workers: There must be a commitment to ensuring that more Black workers—who have historically been excluded from the hospitality industry and its best positions—are hired and retained.

“The Olympics can make it harder for African Americans in the hospitality industry, or it can be an opportunity to protect existing Black workers’ jobs and create a pipeline for good jobs for Black workers in Los Angeles,” said Chris Smith, a bartender at SoFi Stadium and the Anaheim Convention Center.

End the housing crisis: With Los Angeles facing an unprecedented housing crisis, the Olympics can exacerbate this problem, by converting housing into short-term rentals (STRs) through its official partnership with Airbnb, or it can protect existing renters and meaningfully contribute to affordable housing production.

“The longer I’ve lived in LA, the more expensive it has become. I lived on the West Side for many years but because of how expensive rent is, my daughter and I have had to move further and further away from LAX. Now I live in Compton in a converted garage with no kitchen. I spend almost three hours every day getting to and from work because I rely on public transportation. People like me who are the backbone of the airport deserve to be able to afford to live near where we work,” said Laura Banuet, member of UNITE HERE Local 11 and food service worker at LAX since 2016.

Similar agreements for past Olympics have contained detailed descriptions of each entity’s obligations, including police budgets and the rights of corporate sponsors. As outlined in Local 11’s report, the Olympics in London, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo caused gentrification and further displaced thousands of residents from their homes to make way for the Games.

“The decision making must not only be transparent, but we need to be at the table. The Olympic Games are a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform our industry and our city. If the Olympics are to benefit our communities, the workers whose labor will make the Games possible must have family-sustaining jobs,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11.