Unite Here Local 11 members voted across greater Los Angeles to authorize a strike. The union reported that that 96 % of those voting voted for a strike at voting centers across Southern California on June 8, 2023. The Long Beach voting center was the downtown Hyatt Regency Long Beach.
Union leaders targeted July 4th holiday to begin the strike.
Negotiations between the union and the hotels started on April 11th. Southern California housing costs and record hotel profits are issues the union has brought to the negotiating table. The union’s website reports that it coordinated 100’s of contracts to expire in 2023:
UNITE HERE Local 11 has lined up over 100 contracts to expire this year, with the goal to lift the low standards of hospitality workers amid a major housing crisis. The typical housekeeper wage in LA is $18.86 per hour—not enough to live in LA whether single or supporting a family. On top of that, the city is preparing to welcome millions of guests for the World Cup (2026) and the Olympics (2028). Local 11 intends to ensure that the residents of Los Angeles who put their sweat and tears into maintaining the city’s tourism industry are provided with wages that allow them to secure housing.
In November 2018 voters passed Measure WW, the Long Beach Hotel Working Condition Initiative. The measure was placed on the ballot by Unite Here regulated hotel working conditions. Similar local laws also known as Housekeepers Bills of Rights were passed in several other California cities and in Seattle.
In February of this year, Unite Here filed a class action lawsuit against the Hyatt Regency Long Beach for violating provisions of the Long Beach Hotel Working Condition ordinance.
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