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UNITE HERE Local 11

LETICIA CEBALLOS

Leticia has two jobs and lives two hours away from her workplace to be able to achieve her dream of home ownership. She has to sleep in her car between jobs and can only see her family on weekends. That’s why she’s on strike.

Third Wave of SoCal Hotel Strikes Hit Hollywood After Industry Proposes Not One Penny More

Southern California: After the hotel industry led by Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott, presented a new economic proposal that did not have one penny more for wages, pension or healthcare, thousands of cooks, room attendants, dishwashers, servers, bellmen, and front desk agents at multiple properties walked out this morning as part of the largest multi-hotel strike in California history.

This is the third in a wave of strikes in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. So far, of the 60 properties with nearly 15,000 hotel workers whose contracts expired at the end of June, only the Westin Bonaventure has reached an agreement with UNITE HERE Local 11 that includes a living wage that will allow workers to afford to live in the city where they work.

The ongoing labor unrest has caused groups such as the Democratic Governors Association, Japanese American Citizens League, W.K Kellogg Foundation and Vanderpump Rules to cancel or move their events.

Yesterday, the bargaining committee sent a letter to the American Political Science Association requesting that the organization cancel its Annual Meeting & Exhibition, which is set to take place on August 31 to September 3, 2022 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  More than 6,000 political science professors are expected to attend this citywide conference.

Morena Hernandez, housekeeper at the Hyatt Andaz said, “I have given decades of my life to this hotel and they have done nothing but take advantage of us. If they really valued our work, they would pay us what we needed to be able to live near where we work. Instead they insult us with their proposals.”

Kurt Petersen, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11 said, “Just when you thought it was not possible, the hotels hit a new low in greed and cruelty.  Their last proposal would make Ebenezer Scrooge envious and would result in a wave of evictions for hotel workers.  Not a penny more for wages, pension or healthcare.  Workers cannot afford to pay rent; meanwhile, a room at the Waldorf Astoria clocks in at $1400. Their greed has forced workers to walk out again to win a wage that allows them to live in LA.”

THE SECOND WAVE OF STRIKES

“Thousands of workers at 33 hotels from Downtown Los Angeles to LAX to Orange County have participated in the largest hotel worker strike in California history,” said Kurt Petersen, Co-President UNITE HERE Local 11. “Our city has reached a tipping point. The wealthy continue to live in luxury while workers, from actors and writers to room attendants and servers, live from one paycheck to the next. This fight is ultimately about whether those who make LA prosperous and beautiful will be able to afford to live in LA.”

Picketing and Leafleting Continue as Hotel Workers Return to Work After Second Wave of Strikes

More hotel worker actions on the horizon as entertainment industry strike grows

Southern California: As labor strife consumes the region, thousands of hotel workers at 12 hotels in Los Angeles and Orange County return to work today.   

The pandemic destroyed the regions’ most important industries, tourism and entertainment, as most actors, writers, and hotel workers lost their jobs overnight. Meanwhile the employers profited from the pandemic by taking billions of dollars in subsidies and forcing workers to work more for less. Workers are rising up together to demand a living wage that allows them to live in the city in which they work.  

Negotiations resume on Tuesday, June 18th. More strikes and other actions by hotel workers could take place at any time. 

“Since reopening after the pandemic, hotels began to eliminate daily room cleaning. Our workloads have become brutal and take an even bigger toll on us,” says Rosa Paz, housekeeper for 23 years at the Hilton Anaheim. “We went on strike because we work really hard and deserve better. Through the strike workers from all the hotels are more united than ever. We are ready for anything, inside, outside, at the negotiating table, and won’t settle for less than we deserve.”

Yesenia Reyes, housekeeper at the Hyatt Regency LAX which is owned by the Southwest Carpenters Pension Trust, the pension fund of the Southwest Carpenters’ union says, “I feel more empowered now than ever to continue fighting for a good contract.” She continued, “As a single mom, I rarely get to see my six kids because I work two full time jobs to pay my $2,000 rent and keep up with other expenses.”

“Thousands of workers at 33 hotels from Downtown Los Angeles to LAX to Orange County have participated in the largest hotel worker strike in California history,” said Kurt Petersen, Co-President UNITE HERE Local 11. “Our city has reached a tipping point. The wealthy continue to live in luxury while workers, from actors and writers to room attendants and servers, live from one paycheck to the next. This fight is ultimately about whether those who make LA prosperous and beautiful will be able to afford to live in LA.”

YESENIA REYES

I feel more empowered now than ever to continue fighting for a good contract. As a single mom, I rarely get to see my six kids because I work two full time jobs to pay my $2,000 rent and keep up with other expenses.

THE NATION: LA’s Hotel Workers Are on Strike