UNITE HERE Local 11 Opposes Federal Handouts to Hospitality Industry in Proposed “Save Hotel Jobs Act”
California’s Largest Hospitality Union says: “Bringing back veteran workers should not come with a $20 billion price tag”
Los Angeles, California: UNITE HERE Local 11, which represents over 32,000 hospitality workers across Southern California and Arizona, sent a letter to the American Hotel and Lodging Association and dozens of members of Congress in firm opposition to the “Save Hotel Jobs Act” today.
The policy being considered by Congress would hand over $20 billion in federal aid to encourage hotels to bring back their veteran workers. This aid is in addition to the millions in Paycheck Protection Program loans multiple hotels received, originally intended for small businesses to keep workers on their payroll. Local 11 has estimated the country’s hospitality industry has already received $13.7 billion in public support, while 75% of our members in the hospitality industry remain unemployed.
In California, the hospitality industry and hotel employers lobbied against a right to return bill that would have guaranteed veteran workers their jobs back as the industry reopens. In the face of the industry’s opposition, UNITE HERE Local 11 was successful in getting right-to-return legislation passed in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Glendale, Pasadena, unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, and most recently across the state of California, extending these protections to 700,000 hospitality workers.
“Bringing back veteran workers should not come with a $20 billion price tag. This is a slap in the face to the hundreds of thousands of room attendants, cooks, dishwashers, and hotel workers who lost lives and livelihoods because of the pandemic. Any hotel employer using this as an opportunity to make money should be ashamed of themselves” said Kurt Petersen, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11.
Hospitality workers, who tend to be majority women of color, have suffered the brunt of this pandemic, with many losing their lives to COVID-19. Employers like Terranea Resort and Chateau Marmont fired their veteran workers and cut their healthcare during the pandemic.
“The federal government has given millions in relief to these hotel conglomerates. It is time to put workers first. The Biden administration and Congress have an opportunity to build back better and hold employers like Chateau Marmont and Terranea accountable,” said Susan Minato, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11.
“We ask Congress to take the responsible path. First by fixing the Paycheck Protection Program so there is genuine transparency and accountability. Second, any federal handouts to the hotel industry should be conditioned and provide enforceable COVID-19 protocols to ensure worker safety and any direct payments should go to struggling workers,” said Ada Briceño, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11.
“I gave 40 years of my life to the Chateau Marmont. I lost my healthcare after they fired me and now, I drive part-time delivering pizzas. Yet Andre Balazs, the owner of the Chateau Marmont, was approved for a $1.95 million federal loan. Workers like me have yet to see any of that money or to be brought back to work,” said Carlos Barrera, garage attendant at Chateau Marmont.
###
LA County Democratic Party Calls for Sheriff Villanueva’s Resignation
BuzzFeed News: The Hospitality Industry Is Bouncing Back After A Year Of Devastation, But Will Its Workers Ever Recover?
Read more by Clarissa-Jan Lim on BuzzFeedNews.com
What Labor Shortage? LAX Employees Demand Airport’s Biggest Concessionaire Recall Laid Off Workers
HMS Host again faces employee protest as workers remain on layoff in the wake of subcontracting
L.A.’s airport authority has granted the company millions in rent relief
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.
UNITE HERE Local 11 Opposes Federal Handouts to Hospitality Industry in Proposed “Save Hotel Jobs Act”
UNITE HERE Local 11 Opposes Federal Handouts to Hospitality Industry in Proposed “Save Hotel Jobs Act”
California’s Largest Hospitality Union says: “Bringing back veteran workers should not come with a $20 billion price tag”
Los Angeles, California: UNITE HERE Local 11, which represents over 32,000 hospitality workers across Southern California and Arizona, sent a letter to the American Hotel and Lodging Association and dozens of members of Congress in firm opposition to the “Save Hotel Jobs Act” today.
The policy being considered by Congress would hand over $20 billion in federal aid to encourage hotels to bring back their veteran workers. This aid is in addition to the millions in Paycheck Protection Program loans multiple hotels received, originally intended for small businesses to keep workers on their payroll. Local 11 has estimated the country’s hospitality industry has already received $13.7 billion in public support, while 75% of our members in the hospitality industry remain unemployed.
In California, the hospitality industry and hotel employers lobbied against a right to return bill that would have guaranteed veteran workers their jobs back as the industry reopens. In the face of the industry’s opposition, UNITE HERE Local 11 was successful in getting right-to-return legislation passed in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Glendale, Pasadena, unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, and most recently across the state of California, extending these protections to 700,000 hospitality workers.
“Bringing back veteran workers should not come with a $20 billion price tag. This is a slap in the face to the hundreds of thousands of room attendants, cooks, dishwashers, and hotel workers who lost lives and livelihoods because of the pandemic. Any hotel employer using this as an opportunity to make money should be ashamed of themselves” said Kurt Petersen, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11.
Hospitality workers, who tend to be majority women of color, have suffered the brunt of this pandemic, with many losing their lives to COVID-19. Employers like Terranea Resort and Chateau Marmont fired their veteran workers and cut their healthcare during the pandemic.
“The federal government has given millions in relief to these hotel conglomerates. It is time to put workers first. The Biden administration and Congress have an opportunity to build back better and hold employers like Chateau Marmont and Terranea accountable,” said Susan Minato, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11.
“We ask Congress to take the responsible path. First by fixing the Paycheck Protection Program so there is genuine transparency and accountability. Second, any federal handouts to the hotel industry should be conditioned and provide enforceable COVID-19 protocols to ensure worker safety and any direct payments should go to struggling workers,” said Ada Briceño, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11.
“I gave 40 years of my life to the Chateau Marmont. I lost my healthcare after they fired me and now, I drive part-time delivering pizzas. Yet Andre Balazs, the owner of the Chateau Marmont, was approved for a $1.95 million federal loan. Workers like me have yet to see any of that money or to be brought back to work,” said Carlos Barrera, garage attendant at Chateau Marmont.
###
The Arizona GOP’s Attack on Democracy
Jane Fonda – LAANE luncheon
Women have been hit hardest by COVID’s economic toll
Hospitality workers celebrate right to return to work
LUPITA ORTIZ
Lupita Ortiz has been a housekeeper at the Disneyland Hotel for over 15 years. She is also a member of Local 11’s Executive Board and a Delegate for the California Democratic Party.
Industry-Favored Hotel Mr. C Vetoes Panic Buttons for Employees