15,000 Southern California hotel workers vote to authorize a strike

More than 15,000 Southern California hotel workers have voted to authorize a strike as they bargain for a $5-an-hour pay hike, more affordable health care, a secure pension plan and “safe and humane” workloads.

Nearly all — or 96% — of room attendants, cooks, dishwashers, front desk agents, servers and food service workers represented by Unite Here Local 11 voted Thursday, June 8 to approve a walkout that could happen as early as the July 4 weekend.

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The union said it would be “the largest hotel worker strike in modern U.S. history,” affecting operations at an estimated 70 area hotels. Hotel operators include Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, Highgate, Accor and IHG.

Locally, that includes the Anaheim Hilton, Hotel Maya in Long Beach, Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica, Hilton Pasadena and Hyatt’s Andaz West Hollywood hotel, among others.

Pete Hillan, a spokesman for the California Hotel & Lodging Association (CHLA), said Unite Here is “holding its members hostage” at a time when the industry and the communities the hotels serve can least afford it.

Hotels that were closed for 14 to 18 months during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic have recovered some of their ground, he said, but they’re not fully back yet.

“If Unite Here holds a strike the weekend of the Fourth of July they will be hurting the very workers they say they want to protect,” Hillan said.

The workers’ labor contract expires June 30. After more than a month of failed negotiations that began April 20, Unite Here said the hotel operators have yet to offer a concrete wage proposal.

The top concern among hotel workers is the rising cost of housing. In a recent union survey, 53% of employees said they have either moved in the past five years or will be forced to move in the near future because of soaring housing costs.

They are seeking an immediate $5-an-hour wage increase for all hotel workers, regardless of their current pay level.

“Hotel workers who work in the booming Los Angeles tourism industry must be able to live in Los Angeles,” Unite Here co-President Kurt Petersen, said in a statement. “This 96% vote to authorize a strike sends a clear message to the industry that workers have reached their limit and are prepared to strike to secure a living wage.”

Christian Morales, a laundry worker at the Hilton Pasadena, makes $20 an hour but says it’s not enough.

“My wife works too, but our rent is $1,500 a month and we have gas grocery costs and a $500-month car payment,” he said. “Everything is getting expensive.”

Meanwhile, he said his workload has ramped up.

“Rooms are not being cleaned daily anymore,” he said. “They’re only cleaning them on checkout, so that creates a heavier workload when they are cleaned. I was putting things in the laundry chute and it was clogged all the way up to the fifth floor.”

Things are challenging on the management side as well. Against a backdrop of high inflation, rising wages and summer travel, many hotel operators say they’re struggling to find enough workers.

Seventy-five percent of hotel operators surveyed said for a recent American Hotel & Lodging (AHLA) report say they’re increasing wages to attract more employees, while 64% are offering greater flexibility with hours and 36% are expanding benefits.

Unite Here Local 11 recently secured a $4 hourly pay hike for workers at the Hyatt Regency and Hyatt Centric hotels in Long Beach, and hotel employees in other cities, including Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Glendale and West Hollywood, have secured similar wage increases through city ordinances.

Despite the perks, 87% of operators surveyed by AHLA say they’re still unable to fill all of their openings.

The most critical staffing need is housekeeping, the survey said, with 40% of respondents ranking it as their top hiring challenge. That was followed by front desk clerks (28%), maintenance workers (13%), culinary employees (13.1%) and general managers (8%).

Veronica Alvarado, who has worked as a housekeeper at the W Hollywood hotel for nearly six years, makes $25 an hour. But management, she said, has cut back on hours.

“Some people have left because they aren’t getting enough hours — and they don’t call them back,” the 35-year-old North Hollywood resident said. “And sometimes they’ll close off an entire floor for maintenance, but it’s not cleaned up before they do that.”

When a closed-off floor reopens, it creates an undue amount of work for housekeepers, Alvarado, said.

Hillan said a strike would dissuade travelers from staying at impacted hotels.

“If I’m visiting a hotel and there’s a picket line out in front, that will make my visit uncomfortable at the very least,” he said.