Thousands of Hotel Workers in LA Area Remain on Strike

While their representing labor union has secured some agreements, thousands of hotel workers in the Los Angeles area, many of them housekeepers, continue to be on strike, according to Business Insider.

As reported by CMMOnline, the strikes initially began back in July, when 98% of the Union Here Local 11 workers voted in favor of walking off the job. While profits rose to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels for the hotels, workers, according to the union, continue to have trouble surviving on their current wages. In a statement, the union said that about 53% of its surveyed union members had either moved in the last five years or are planning to move soon, because of the cost of living in their current area.

“Our members were devastated first by the pandemic, and now by the greed of their bosses,” Kurt Petersen, Unite Here Local 11 co-president, told Business Insider. “The industry got bailouts while we got cuts. Now, the hotel negotiators decided to take a four-day holiday instead of negotiating. Shameful.”

As reported by Business Insider, a night’s stay at one of the hotels—the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills—costs at least US$995 for a standard room and goes up from there.

In contrast, Maribel Reyes—a 41-year-old single mother who is a room attendant at the same hotel—told Business Insider that she makes $25 an hour and takes home a biweekly paycheck of $ 1,200, which is quickly eaten up by her childcare costs and her rent.

“I want them to understand and to realize that we have families,” Reyes told Business Insider. “I have a daughter I need to help take care of and help school the little one. I have bills. I have things I need to pay, and I need them to understand and put themselves in my position and really realize that what we’re asking for is fair and it’s the right thing for us to do.”

A hotel that recently came to a tentative agreement with the union is Le Merigot Hotel in Santa Monica. However, according to Santa Monica Lookout, Le Merigot Hotel has not been one of the area hotels experiencing walk-offs by workers. Other area hotels that have come to an agreement with the workers after months of striking and negotiations include The Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites in Los Angeles, the Biltmore in Los Angeles, Loews Hollywood Hotel, and the Laguna Cliffs Marriott in Dana Point.