ZÓCALO: How We Won a Historic Contract for Hotel Workers

MERCEDES FLORES

Meet Mercedes Flores, a housekeeper and worker leader at the Sheraton Grand in DTLA. This is why she has gone on strike.

RAFAEL CASTRO

Rafael has worked at the Westin LAX for 30 years. He is fighting for the five pillars; wages, health insurance, a pension, affordable housing, and fair workloads.

MELISSA AND ROSA

The 3rd wave of the nation’s largest hotel strike expands to Beverly Hills as more than 1,000 more cooks, room attendants, dishwashers, servers, bellmen, and front desk agents at multiple properties walked out this morning.

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.

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.

ROSA PAZ

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. 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.”

MARTA ESQUIVEL

The companies have taken advantage of the pandemic to get richer, while we struggle to stay housed. I am fighting for that change, and that’s why I am on strike!

JENNIFER FLORES

Jennifer is a front desk supervisor at the InterContinental Los Angeles. Her mother has been a hotel housekeeper for over fifteen years. Jennifer she grew up going to union protests and marches. Now it’s her turn to take a stand!