Hotel workers, including housekeepers, dishwashers, cooks, waiters, bellhops and front-desk agents, struggle to afford housing in cities where they work, and many were idled during the COVID-19 pandemic while"Our members were devastated first by the pandemic and now by the greed of their bosses," union co-president Kurt Petersen said in a statement.
Among the hotels targeted the first day, she said, were the InterContinental, Hotel Indigo, Millennium Biltmore and JW Marriott LA Live in downtown Los Angeles, as well as the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica, the Sheraton Universal in Universal City and Laguna Cliffs Marriott in Dana Point. She urged the industry's negotiating coalition, the Coordinated Bargaining Group, "to follow the lead of the Westin Bonaventure."The bargaining group was negotiating on behalf of 44 unionized hotels, with the remaining 21 expected to go along with whatever settlement is reached, according to the Los Angeles City News Service.
Unite Here also is seeking creation of a hospitality workforce housing fund, which according to management would be funded with a new 7% tax on guests staying at unionized hotels.