Workers at the Hyatt Regency and Hyatt Centric hotels in Long Beach have secured a $4-an-hour raise, boosting minimum wage levels to anywhere from $22 to $25 an hour.
The minimum pay employees earn at the hotels varies depending on the specific job they do.
Under a new labor contract, 400 non-tipped room attendants, cooks, front desk agents and stewards represented by Unite Here Local 11 also will get free family health insurance and see staffing restored to pre-pandemic levels.
The hotels have also agreed to reinstitute mandatory daily room cleaning. Unite Here spokeswoman Maria Hernandez said that’s a good thing.
“A lot of hotels eliminated daily room cleaning during the pandemic and are only having rooms cleaned every three or four days,” Hernandez said. “That means rooms take longer to clean because they’re dirtier, and it has also reduced employee hours.”
Keeping pace
The $4 hourly pay hike is aimed at helping hotel workers keep pace with rising rents and inflated gas and grocery costs. Data from RentCafe.com show the average rent for a Long Beach apartment is $2,571 a month, with 72% of the city’s rental units priced at $2,000 or more.
Rents are considerably higher in some parts of the city, including Alamitos Beach, East Village, Terminal Island and West End Long Beach, which all average $2,968 a month, according to the price tracker.
“The new strong union contract acknowledges the hard work and dedication of hospitality workers who deserve dignity and the ability to live in the communities they serve,” Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said.
Richardson said the pay increase “acknowledges the need to invest in working families who are the backbone of our hospitality sector.”
Representatives with Hyatt could not be reached for comment on the new contract.
The wage increase is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2023, and will expire June 30 to align with labor agreements at 100 other Southern California hotels and restaurants Unite Here…
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