UNITE HERE Local 11 Supports LACDP’s Vote for Sheriff Alex Villanueva to Resign
Passage comes ahead of one-year “Angelversary” marking the death of Andres Guardado
Los Angeles, CA: Tonight, the Los Angeles County Democratic Party voted 91% in favor of a resolution calling for the accountability and resignation of Sheriff Alex Villanueva. The party initially endorsed Villanueva during his election.
The killing of Andres Guardado was outlined as key evidence for the approval of the resolution. On June 18, 2020 while working as a security guard in Gardena, LASD deputies shot Guardado five times in the back, as reported by two independent autopsies. The eighteen-year-old had gotten the job at an auto body shop to help provide for his family after his father, a hotel worker and UNITE HERE Local 11 member, was laid off due to COVID-19.
The resolution was led by UNITE HERE Local 11 who first launched efforts for Sheriff Villanueva to resign in July 2020 with groups like Black Lives Matter, ACLU, and CLUE.
“We want to thank the leadership and members of the Los Angeles Democratic Party for their strong and courageous vote. Tonight’s vote is an important moment in our union’s fight to stand up against the atrocities of the Sheriff’s department under Alex Villanueva,” said Ada Briceno UNITE HERE Local 11 Co-President and DNC member.
“Our job goes beyond endorsing someone. We also need to hold our elected officials accountable. It is important that we make sure their actions are aligned with our values. And if they’re not, we must take a stand and continue to fight for the things that matter most,” said Elise Moore, Corresponding Secretary of the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley and Co-chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party Judicial Interview Committee.
The resolution was supported by community groups like SEIU 2015; NUHW; UFCW 770; Roofers Local 36; UTLA; UNITE HERE Local 11; and many others.
On the one-year “Angelversary” of the killing of Andres Guardado, June 18th, UNITE HERE Local 11 will hold a press conference outside the Hall of Justice and later be joined by the Guardado family continuing the call for justice. The union and its allies also plan to hold a march from the auto shop where Andres was killed to the Compton Sheriff’s station on Saturday June 19, 2021 from 11am-1pm.
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UNITE HERE Local 11 Supports LACDP’s Vote for Sheriff Alex Villanueva to Resign
UNITE HERE Local 11 Supports LACDP’s Vote for Sheriff Alex Villanueva to Resign
Passage comes ahead of one-year “Angelversary” marking the death of Andres Guardado
Los Angeles, CA: Tonight, the Los Angeles County Democratic Party voted 91% in favor of a resolution calling for the accountability and resignation of Sheriff Alex Villanueva. The party initially endorsed Villanueva during his election.
The killing of Andres Guardado was outlined as key evidence for the approval of the resolution. On June 18, 2020 while working as a security guard in Gardena, LASD deputies shot Guardado five times in the back, as reported by two independent autopsies. The eighteen-year-old had gotten the job at an auto body shop to help provide for his family after his father, a hotel worker and UNITE HERE Local 11 member, was laid off due to COVID-19.
The resolution was led by UNITE HERE Local 11 who first launched efforts for Sheriff Villanueva to resign in July 2020 with groups like Black Lives Matter, ACLU, and CLUE.
“We want to thank the leadership and members of the Los Angeles Democratic Party for their strong and courageous vote. Tonight’s vote is an important moment in our union’s fight to stand up against the atrocities of the Sheriff’s department under Alex Villanueva,” said Ada Briceno UNITE HERE Local 11 Co-President and DNC member.
“Our job goes beyond endorsing someone. We also need to hold our elected officials accountable. It is important that we make sure their actions are aligned with our values. And if they’re not, we must take a stand and continue to fight for the things that matter most,” said Elise Moore, Corresponding Secretary of the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley and Co-chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party Judicial Interview Committee.
The resolution was supported by community groups like SEIU 2015; NUHW; UFCW 770; Roofers Local 36; UTLA; UNITE HERE Local 11; and many others.
On the one-year “Angelversary” of the killing of Andres Guardado, June 18th, UNITE HERE Local 11 will hold a press conference outside the Hall of Justice and later be joined by the Guardado family continuing the call for justice. The union and its allies also plan to hold a march from the auto shop where Andres was killed to the Compton Sheriff’s station on Saturday June 19, 2021 from 11am-1pm.
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“Serving Our Community” Recognized with Prestigious National Workforce Award
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Los Angeles, CA: May 28, 2021—The National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) recently announced Serving Our Community Program as the winner of the prestigious W.O. Lawton Award. The award will be presented at NAWB’s upcoming Forum 2021 in Washington, D.C.
UNITE HERE Local 11 and HTA’s “Serving Our Community” program has prepared and delivered over 3.75 million meals. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the program has provided 1,100 jobs to recently laid-off union and non-union workers and served 10,000 homebound seniors, people experiencing homelessness, survivors of domestic violence and
slavery & trafficking, and low-income families.
“Thank you to the National Association of Workforce Boards for this amazing honor. We are so proud to have brought back so many workers to provide meals for those in need and also help reenergize the economy.” said Adine Forman, HTA Executive Director.“The Serving our Community Program shows what we can accomplish together – when labor, employers, and elected officials come together to innovatively and safely provide vital resources to our community,” said Susan Minato Co-President of UNITE HERE Local and Chair of the Board of Trustees for the HTA.
“Over the past year, workforce development boards, leaders and industry partners have gone above and beyond to provide essential services in a time of national crisis,” said Ron Painter, President and CEO of NAWB. “NAWB could not be more honored to recognize each of these award recipients. Workforce Development Boards are a critical piece of our country’s infrastructure, and we are thrilled to take a moment to recognize them at our annual event.” The “Serving Our Community” Program was selected out of a large pool of nominations for W.O. Lawton Award, which recognizes businesses and business organizations that have made the commitment of time, money, and leadership to make their community’s workforce and
economy more vibrant. To learn more about all of the award winners and NAWB’s annual event The Forum, please
visit: https://forum.nawb.org/.
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Los Angeles: HMS Host workers at LAX protested Wednesday to demand that the airport’s largest food and retail concessions employer stop outsourcing food preparation work and allow them to return to their jobs.
UNITE HERE Local 11 alleges that HMS Host outsourced work that is typically done by union members, purchasing products such as salads and wraps from an outside vendor to sell at its LAX sites. The Union asserts this has resulted in lost work opportunities for HMS Host workers.
HMS Host Executive Vice President Derryl Benton recently claimed that HMS Host currently has 4,400 job openings around the country. Meanwhile, most HMS Host workers at LAX remain on layoff and say they don’t know when HMS Host will allow them to return to work.
HMS Host is the largest airport concessionaire in North America. In 2020, the city’s airport authority LAWA authorized waivers that enabled HMS Host to escape paying in excess of $4 million in contractually-obligated rent, according to estimates by UNITE HERE Local 11. In addition, LAWA granted HMS Host valuable two-year extensions on their direct contracts at LAX. Italian billionaires own HMS Host’s parent company Autogrill through a holding corporation, Edizione, which had a net asset value of $14.98 billion as of December 2019.
HMS Host workers at LAX are over 90% people of color (and over 20% Black) and live in the communities hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of its LAX workforce remains laid off.