Several thousand hotel workers in Los Angeles have resumed their strike, intensifying a labor row over wages and staffing levels.
It is impacting major hotels near Los Angeles International Airport, disrupting businesses, and both domestic and international travelers during the peak summer season.
At the heart of the conflict between hotels and Unite Here Local 11, the union representing hospitality workers, are wages in high-cost Southern California.
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Employees claim they’re forced to commute long distances due to the inability to afford housing near their workplaces.
They demand an immediate $5-an-hour raise, followed by further incremental raises.
Lilia Sotelo, a housekeeper at the Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel, said: “Personally, I’m on strike because I can’t pay the rent.
“Food is too expensive. Our quality of life has fallen since the pandemic.”
Sotelo earns $19.80 an hour while paying $1,800 monthly for a two-bedroom apartment in Hawthorne.
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Last week, thousands of hotel workers, represented by Local 11, went on a three-day strike at 21 hotels in downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica.
This action affected the busy July Fourth holiday weekend and a large anime convention attended by tens of thousands of people.
The Coordinated Bargaining Group, representing the hotels involved in the negotiations, said it’ll resume bargaining with the union by proposing potential meeting dates.
However, they claim the union failed to respond, leading to frustration and negative repercussions for employees and Los Angeles’ reputation with tourists.
Read More: Southern California hotel workers strike demanding better pay and benefits
Striking hotel workers are employed at various establishments, including the Holiday Inn, Fairfield Inn, Aloft, Four Points Sheraton, Hotel June, and the Westin near the international airport.
At the end of June, union contracts expired for 60 Southern California hotels, affecting 15,000 hospitality workers in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
The only hotel to have reached a tentative deal on a new contract is the Westin Bonaventure, the largest hotel in Los Angeles in terms of room count.
The union also demands guaranteed staffing levels, automatic digital tipping, and preserving their robust health insurance plan and pension program.
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The Coordinated Bargaining Group accused the union of violating the law by striking over demands that could harm the city’s tourism industry.
The group claim these demands were unrelated to the well-being of the employees.
They cited the union’s insistence on hotel support for a LA ballot measure to house the homeless alongside guests and impose a 7 percent tax on guests at union hotels.
They have filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board.
The duration of the strike remains unspecified.
