UNITE HERE Local 11 members announced a boycott of Aimbridge Hospitality, the largest third-party hotel operator in the world, until the company agrees to sign a fair contract at all of its union properties. The boycott calls for tourists and visitors to choose alternatives for any travel and events at the following properties:

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Los Angeles Downtown
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel San Pedro – Port of Los Angeles
Courtyard by Marriott Santa Monica
Hampton Inn & Suites Santa Monica
Hilton Pasadena
Hyatt Regency LAX
Holiday Inn Los Angeles – LAX Airport
Sheraton Park Hotel Anaheim
Blackstone-owned Aloft El Segundo
Blackstone-owned Fairfield El Segundo

In addition to launching the “Shamebridge” boycott, workers at Aimbridge-operated hotels will also hold actions at the Doubletree DTLA on Monday, plan to strike at the Sheraton Park in Anaheim during the National Association of Music Merchants conference, and do “occupy” actions next week unless agreements are reached.

The boycott and escalated actions at Aimbridge-operated hotels follow 29 tentative contract agreements reached across Los Angeles and Orange County between hotels and their workers. Aimbridge Hospitality has failed to meet the hotel contract standard, leading to what has become protracted labor disputes at the listed properties.

“Aimbridge Hospitality has not only refused to listen to its workers, but it has met them with contempt and greed,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11. “By boycotting Aimbridge properties, travelers and tourists to Southern California have an opportunity to stand against corporate injustice and support workers who are fighting for a dignified way of life.”

Maria Gurola, a cook at the Doubletree San Pedro, expressed indignation with Aimbridge’s failure to sign a new contract. “I’ve worked at the Doubletree San Pedro for 11 years, and I still struggle to pay my bills. We need Aimbridge to show us the respect we deserve and agree to a contract that lets us live in the city we work in.”

Also, as local hotels prepare to host thousands of guests for the annual NAMM show at the Anaheim Convention Center, workers at the Aimbridge-operated Sheraton Park Hotel in Anaheim are prepared to strike if the hotel does not sign a tentative agreement by the time the conference begins on January 25.

“We’ve been fighting for a contract since July,” says housekeeper Maria Luisa Posada, who has worked at the Sheraton Park Anaheim for over 40 years. “With the NAMM show coming, Aimbridge leaves us with no choice but to go out on strike.”

Aimbridge has been embroiled in controversy since the beginning of the Southern California hotel strike. Among other developments, last October, housekeepers at the San Pedro DoubleTree filed a class-action lawsuit against a subsidiary of the operator, alleging violations of panic buttons and other worker safety provisions of the Los Angeles Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance.

The union has also filed federal unfair labor practice charges against Aimbridge at two hotel properties alleging that managers unlawfully interfered with the rights of employees to engage in union or other protected activity. The charges are pending investigation by the National Labor Relations Board. Meanwhile, the California Labor Commissioner and Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon are investigating allegations of the exploitation of unhoused migrant workers at Aimbridge properties.