Union workers start second wave of hotel strikes in Southern California

Dive Brief:

Thousands of cooks, room attendants, dishwashers, servers, bellmen and front desk agents walked out of their jobs on Monday in the second wave of strikes organized by members of Southern California hospitality union Unite Here Local 11.
Workers held their first wave of strikes over the July Fourth holiday weekend. But the Los Angeles-area hotels — with the exception of the Westin Bonaventure — have yet to reach deals with the union for wages and healthcare benefits, and workers have pledged to hold more strikes and actions until they do.
Last week, the Coordinated Bargaining Group that represents 44 Los Angeles and Orange County-area hotels filed Unfair Labor Practice Charges with the National Labor Relations Board against the union. The group said the union’s striking over contract stipulations that could “harm the Los Angeles tourism industry” violates the law.

Dive Insight:

Unite Here Local 11 represents 15,000 hotel workers across 60 properties in Southern California. Workers at 21 of the hotels walked out over the July Fourth weekend after their contracts expired on June 30.

Unite Here did not disclose how many hotels are affected by the second wave of strikes, but properties where workers walked out on Monday include Holiday Inn Los Angeles LAX Airport, Aloft El Segundo Los Angeles Airport, Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles International Airport, Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel, Westin Los Angeles Airport, Hotel June Los Angeles and Hilton Garden Inn El Segundo.

Hotels in the Coordinated Bargaining Group, meanwhile, say the union is refusing to bargain in good faith, and its demands have “nothing to do with our employees,” according to a joint statement obtained by Hotel Dive. The group — which represents 44 Los Angeles and Orange County-area hotels negotiating with Unite Here — also said the union is “falsely claiming” that its proposals may not secure workers’ healthcare for the next four years, and that the union is insisting hotels support a ballot measure that would require hotels to house people experiencing homelessness alongside guests.

“Insisting that these provisions must be in any contract settlement and striking to include them is not only unlawful, but it is also a real obstacle to reaching agreement on a contract,” said spokesperson Keith Grossman in Coordinated Bargaining Group’s statement. “If the Union really wanted an agreement to help the employees, it would have dropped these issues long ago instead of taking employees out on strike over them.”

Unite Here did not respond to Hotel Dive’s request for comment about the charges, though Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, told The Washington Post that Grossman’s description of the ballot measure is a mischaracterization of a law intended to prioritize “building affordable housing over luxury hotels.”

“The hotel industry is flush with cash. Room rates are soaring. The industry's greed makes workers unable to live in the city where they work,” Petersen said in Unite Here Local 11’s latest statement.

The main issue Unite Here members are fighting for is fair wages, which workers say are insufficient to cover the rising cost of living in Los Angeles.

“I am on strike because as a mom I will do anything to keep a roof over my kids’ heads,” said Lilia Sotelo, a housekeeper at the Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel. “Rent is soaring but wages are not. The industry is booming. They need to share with us who make them prosperous.”

Unite Here did not disclose how long this wave of strikes will last. The previous wave lasted three days. In the absence of deals with hotels, the union plans to continue walkouts and other actions. In a previous release, Petersen called striking “only one tool in our toolbox.”