LA Hotel Strikes begin to end after negotiations
The hotel strike, which started on July 10 2023, began to reach closure in early January after successful negotiations with hotels.
Unite Here Local 11, an organization aimed at representing and fighting for workers, successfully helped negotiate improved wages, working conditions and enhanced employee benefits. They successfully reached an agreement with 34 hotels in Culver City, West Hollywood, Long Beach and Santa Monica.
The Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica was the second hotel to sign a deal with the union. After six months of strikes and protests, Fairmont employees received a wage increase that aligns with the price of housing, healthcare and inflation. This victory represents the union's ability to garner widespread support and effectively meet the workers' demands.
“We applaud the Fairmont Miramar for signing this historic agreement” Unite Here Local 11 co-president Kurt Persen stated in a press interview, “This victory once again demonstrates our member’s indomitable spirit and sends an unambiguous message to the remaining hotels that we will not stop fighting until we have one a living wage at all hotel.”
During protests, participants have used bullhorns and drums to share their message. This however has been a disturbance to some and resulted in a lawsuit filed against Unite Here Local 11 after complaints of noise from an early morning protest in Beverly Hills. Rian Barenfeld (’26) witnessed the strikes firsthand.
“My grandparents' apartment is close to a hotel, and I saw them protesting when I walked by. I also saw a strike at the hotel near the YMCA when I was driving by; they had drums and horns and were circling the front of the building. Both strikes were extremely noisy, and I could hear them from far away,” Barenfeld said.
According to the Los Angeles Times, union strikers have been injured by metal pellets fired by air rifles by anti-protestors and were roughed up by security guards. In the past, workers and supporters had been attacked while protesting outside properties in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
As the fight for better conditions continues, many begin to celebrate the hard work being put into the strikes, such as Housekeeping supervisor Diana Sanchez, who works at the InterContinental Downtown LA.
“We had a party in the cafeteria this morning. We are stronger today than when we went on our first strike,” Sanchez said to Unite Here Local 11.
Sanchez said she acknowledges that the fight is not over until all hotel workers can succeed with their goal. The strikes have created a strong sense of community between these employees and throughout the process, they have grown stronger as a group. Once the contract gets ratified, the employees at the InterContinental Downtown LA will enjoy many benefits and improvements.
These include unprecedented wage increases to keep up with the escalating cost of housing, affordable family healthcare, improved retirement pensions, safe staffing and language improvements. These language improvements will help provide job opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals as well as protections for immigrant workers.
However, many private-equity-owned Aimbridge Hospitality hotels continue to refuse their worker's demands. Cambridge, a movement launched by hotel employees to boycott Aimbridge Hospitality, resulted in Ambridge’s loss of operating contracts as two hotels based in LA.
Morena Hernandez, a housekeeper at the Hyatt Andaz, pledges to continue to fight until her fellow workers gain what they deserve.
“My coworkers and I stuck together until we won what we deserved. We will keep fighting aside our sisters and brothers at the Hotel Maya, Hyatt Regency LAX and others until they win too,” Hernandez said.
