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why does it matter
Workers in several Southern California industries have threatened to strike or quit their jobs in recent months, showing an unusual level of solidarity with other unions as they push for higher wages and better working conditions.
Dockers suspended operations at the mega ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach for weeks until a test run in June. The screenwriters resided at the camp outside the gates of the Hollywood studios for about two months.
Los Angeles City Councilman Hugo Soto Martinez, who served as an organizer for Unite Here Local 11, said the breadth of industries involved in labor struggles showed frustration, especially among young workers who saw inequality increase and opportunities evaporate.
“It’s homelessness, it’s housing costs,” he said. “I think people have a much clearer understanding of these issues.”
The hotel workers’ strike comes as the summer tourism season heats up, and labor leaders say they hope to build on the momentum.
Tourism in the city last year reached its highest level since the coronavirus pandemic, according to to the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau. Nearly 46 million people visited and business turnover totaled $34.5 billion in 2022, 91 percent of the record set in 2019.
But for many workers, like Diana Rios Sanchez, who works as a housekeeping supervisor at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown, pay hasn’t kept up with inflation.
She often wonders how long she and her three children, who live in a one-bedroom apartment in El Sereno on L.A.’s East Side, can afford to live in the city.
“In hotels, we just work and work and get paid very little,” said Ms. Rios-Sanchez. “We take care of the tourists, but nobody takes care of us.”
Business groups say simply requiring employers to pay workers higher salaries does not address the deeper problems that have driven up California’s cost of living.
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The association has been negotiating the new contract since April. In June, the members agreed to go on strike.
The group demanded an increase in hourly wages, currently $20 and $25 for domestic workers, by $5 and then $3 in each subsequent year of the three-year contract.
By contrast, Grossman said in a statement that hotels have offered to raise wages for housekeepers, who currently earn $25 in Beverly Hills and downtown Los Angeles, to more than $31 by January 2027.
The Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites in downtown Los Angeles announced Thursday that it has sidestepped a strike by workers. conclusion of the contract.
The agreements reached this year will set wage levels ahead of the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics, which are expected to be huge tourism draws for the region.
so what
On Sunday, Petersen said the strike would continue for “several days”. According to a statement from the Los Angeles Hotel Association, hotels can continue to serve visitors.
Anna Bates Contribute to the preparation of reports.
