Dive Brief:
- The Beverly Hilton, Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, Hilton Anaheim and Hilton Costa Mesa reached tentative deals with their union workers to end strikes at their properties, according to union Unite Here Local 11 and the Los Angeles Times.
- The news of the Beverly Hilton’s agreement came just days before Golden Globe nominations were announced at the hotel, avoiding a picket line at the property during a prominent event, the Los Angeles Times reported. A Unite Here spokesperson confirmed the Los Angeles Times’ reporting to Hotel Dive but did not offer further comment.
- The four Hilton hotels join five others that have already made deals with workers represented by the Southern California hospitality union: Loews Hollywood, Laguna Cliffs Marriott, Le Merigot Santa Monica, Biltmore Los Angeles and Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites.
Dive Insight:
When the tentatively agreed-upon contracts are officially ratified, workers at the Beverly Hilton will see wage and pension increases, improved healthcare, safer workloads and added equal justice in their contracts, according to Unite Here.
Shortly after striking a deal with the Beverly Hilton, Unite Here also reached tentative agreements that would cover 300 workers at the Waldorf Astoria, 800 at the Hilton Anaheim and 200 at Hilton Costa Mesa, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“We are pleased to have reached a new labor agreement with UNITE HERE Local 11 for our valued Team Members at the Beverly Hilton, Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills and Hilton Anaheim,” a Hilton spokesperson told Hotel Dive. “Hilton Team Members are at the heart of everything we do and we look forward to continuing to welcome our guests with our signature hospitality.”
Hilton Costa Mesa is owned and operated separately and did not respond to Hotel Dive’s request for comment.
In a joint statement, Unite Here and the Beverly Hilton said: “Together, the iconic Beverly Hilton and its employees set the stage for the awards season, and we are delighted to be able to do so once again.” Golden Globe nominations were announced at the hotel on Monday morning.
Picket lines continue elsewhere in Beverly Hills, however, at the Beverly Wilshire and Fairmont Century Plaza.
Unite Here Local 11 workers have held multihotel strikes since July. In recent months, hospitality unions elsewhere in the country have also seen success in negotiating with hotel and resort employers.
In Las Vegas, resorts owned by MGM Resorts International, Wynn Resorts and Caesars Entertainment avoided a strike that could have involved tens of thousands of union workers in eleventh-hour negotiations ahead of the Culinary and Bartenders Unions’ strike deadline. Workers for all three employers saw their highest wage increases in the history of the union’s negotiations with the resorts.
And in Detroit, workers won immediate pay increases after a monthlong strike at the city’s casino resorts.
