Thousands of California hotel workers set to strike
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (CNN, KYMA/KECY) - 15,000 workers at 65 major hotels in Southern California are planning to go on strike.
A union representing the workers in Los Angeles and Orange Counties says the strike will start early Saturday in a push for more pay, better benefits and better working conditions.
They’re the people that are the first to greet you when you check in. They’re the chefs. The housekeepers. The people that make the hotel industry what it is. And they’re fed up.
“We are ready to go on strike, we are just waiting the ok to do it," said Lucero Ramirez, a hotel worker.
The biggest hotels in Southern California are the following: The W Hollywood, Beverly Hilton, Sheraton Grand, and the L.A. Grand.
Strike set for midnight
The homeless housing hotel the mayor uses to bring people off the streets and inside are among the 60 hotels in both LA and OC, where workers are set to hit the picket lines when their contract expires at midnight.
The union representing the workers says they’ve been negotiating since April over more pay, better benefits and better working conditions.
“All of this stuff is happening with the backdrop of these hotels making so much money a lot of them now making more money and revenue then they were in 2019," said Maria Hernandez of Unite Here Local 11.
Marriott is one of the hotel chains in those negotiations.
A spokesperson said, "We remain committed to working towards a fair labor agreement, and meanwhile, have well-established protocols in place to operate our hotels and take care of our guests in the event of any impact to staffing."
Strike impact
The looming strike comes on the heels of the big Fourth of July holiday and a big convention downtown that’s bringing thousands of people, including this group from San Jose.
“This is a pretty good time to go on strike I guess so I hope they get what they want," said one county resident.
It’s a hope workers say they’ve waited long enough for.
“During the pandemic, we were called essential workers. Now, there’s no pandemic; employers think we are not essential anymore and they think they can run without us but we all know that’s not true," Ramirez spoke.
A person familiar with management plans said the hotels expect to stay open even if there is a strike, using management staff from the impacted hotels and other nonunion properties to fill in.
They are also expecting many of the strikers to return to work on Monday, when they will be eligible for a holiday pay premium.
