The strike is part of a string of union actions affecting various California industries this year. Labor leaders point to rising expenses in California as one reason for union action, but some employers say unions are merely seeking to increase their political influence.
The Unite Here Local 11 represents about 15,000 hotel and hospitality workers in California, including room attendants, dishwashers, cooks, front desk attendants, bellmen, cooks and dishwashers. The union says it is seeking better pay and benefits, which workers say they need because housing, groceries, gas and other basic needs are becoming increasingly unaffordable on their current salaries. Room attendants, the lowest-paid workers in hotels, range from $20 to $25 an hour.
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“Today I feel like workers (feel) a combination of anger they could release and hope that we will win a wage that allows them to live in L.A,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of the union.
Petersen said the union presented its proposal at the first bargaining session April 20. It included an immediate $5-an-hour raise with an additional $3-an-hour raise for 2024 and 2025.
Keith Grossman, a spokesman for a coalition of 44 hotels negotiating with the union, said in a statement that Unite Here Local 11 has not shown a desire to bargain in good faith.
Grossman said the hotel coalition has proposed wage increases of $2.50 per hour in the first 12 months of the contract and $6.25 an hour over the next four years, as well as continuing current health care plans and pension contributions.
Under that proposal, Beverly Hills and downtown LA housekeepers would receive 10% wage increases in 2024 and make more than $31 an hour by January 2027, according to the coalition.
Bargaining response
The coalition claims the union responded to its proposal by canceling a scheduled bargaining meeting, refusing to schedule additional meetings, and not budging from the…
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