Why is it important?
Workers across Southern California in a variety of industries have threatened to strike or quit in recent months, showing unusual levels of solidarity with other unions as they push for higher wages and better working conditions.
Port workers operation was interrupted for several weeks at the giant ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach until they reach an agreement expected in June. And the screenwriters were pickedeting outside the gates of a Hollywood studio for about two months.
Hugo Soto-Martinez, a Los Angeles City Council member who was an organizer of Unite Here Local 11, says the breadth of industries caught up in labor struggles demonstrates frustration, particularly is among young workers, who have seen inequality rise and opportunity disappear.
“It’s homelessness, it’s the cost of housing,” he said. “I think people are understanding those issues in a much clearer way.”
The hotel workers’ strike comes at a time when the summer tourist season is in full swing, and labor leaders say they are hoping to capitalize on that momentum.
Last year, tourism in the city hit its highest level since the coronavirus pandemic, according to for the Los Angeles Convention and Tourism Board. About 46 million people visited and total business revenue reached $34.5 billion by 2022, 91% of the record set in 2019.
But for many workers like Diana Rios-Sanchez, who works as a sanitation supervisor at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown, wages are not helping to keep up with inflation.
She often wonders how long she and her three children living in a one-bedroom apartment in El Sereno, a neighborhood on the Eastside of Los Angeles, can afford to stay in the city.
“All we do in hotels is work and work and earn very little money,” said Ms. Rios-Sanchez. “We take care of tourists, but no one takes care of us.”
Business groups say simply asking employers to pay workers more doesn’t solve the much deeper problems that have led to the sky-high cost of living in California.
Background
The union has been negotiating since April for a new contract. In June, the members approved a strike.
The team asked for an hourly rate, now $20 and $25 for the domestic worker, immediately increased by $5, then $3 in each subsequent year of the three-year contract. .
By contrast, Mr. Grossman said in the statement that hotels have offered to raise wages for housekeepers who currently earn $25 an hour in Beverly Hills and downtown Los Angeles to more than $31 an hour. in January 2027.
On Thursday, the Westin Bonavoji Hotel & Suites, a large downtown Los Angeles hotel, announced that it had stopped a workers’ strike with a contractual agreement.
Agreements made this year will set wages ahead of the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics, which are expected to draw large numbers of tourists to the region.
What’s next?
Mr Petersen said on Sunday that the strike would go on for “many days.” The Los Angeles Hotel Association said in a statement that hotels will be able to continue serving visitors.
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