Posts tagged Los Angeles
Restaurant workers wanted to unionize at this L.A. hotel. Now the restaurants are closing
February 5, 2024 // The case is playing out at the Hotel Figueroa in downtown, home of Sparrow Italia, Cafe Fig, Bar Magnolia, the Cafeteria and La Casita at Driftwood. The historic building has for the last two decades built a following for its Mediterranean-inspired space and stylish dining rooms, but behind closed doors, tension has loomed between the third-party management company behind the restaurants, called Noble 33, and the estimated 100 food and beverage workers who run them. Discontent between Noble 33 and its employees at Hotel Figueroa started soon after the hospitality group took over food and beverage operations for the hotel in 2021, according to workers and union organizers who spoke with The Times.
The Onion Union Gets Strike Authorization, Accuses G/O Media Of Bad Faith Bargaining Through “Threatening And Intimidating Behavior”
February 5, 2024 // In addition to pay increases, the Onion Union is seeking contractual protections in the event that the company is sold. This comes after the union hit back at G/O Media management after the closure of Jezebel in November, writing in a statement at the time, “our hostile and incompetent management made no effort to work with the union to find a less cruel alternative arrangement…” The union is also seeking improved severance given the ongoing layoffs, as well as basic protections against AI — another area in which employees throughout the company are speaking from experience, given G/O Media previously published AI-generated articles on several of its sites, much to the ire of the staff.
Commentary: How The Teachers Unions Embed Socialism Into Their Contracts
January 28, 2024 // This new, covert strategy, hidden in plain sight, allows state and municipal officials to create sweeping policy changes that evade the scrutiny typically associated with customary legislative procedures, which include publicly available draft legislation, committee hearings, amendments and comprehensive floor debates. In Boston, teachers’ union president Jessica Tang announced they secured “an unprecedented $50 million to commence bolstering the affordable housing that Boston students and families require.” Similarly, Los Angeles teachers incorporated “housing justice provisions” into their contracts.
Strikes Drop LA Film/TV Production to Near Record Lows
January 22, 2024 // Feature film production also dropped steeply last quarter, with a 57.5% decrease to 323 SD. Most Feature projects in production this summer were smaller, independent productions, among a few moving forward under SAG-AFTRA interim agreements. Three independent Features in production last quarter were associated with the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program; the films Hurricana, Shell and Starstruck together generated a total of 28 SD. Unaffected by the strikes but trending lower due to runway production, filming for web and television Commercials slipped last quarter with a 9.9% YoY drop to 746 SD. Commercials made in LA included automobile ads for BMW, Chevy, Honda, Lincoln, Nissan and Toyota. Retailers such as Best Buy, Walmart and Walgreens also shot spots locally.
A Seat at the Table: Physicians Have Been Unionizing in Droves
January 3, 2024 // Mugdha Mokashi, MD, a second-year ob/gyn resident, emphasized that residents and fellows often take care of patients with the greatest needs and the fewest resources. "This is about having a seat at the table" to help make decisions that affect working conditions for residents and fellows, as well as others, including nurses and midwives, Mokashi told MedPage Today, adding that the people "directly responsible for making patient care better" should hold power within an institution.
Pasadena hotel workers strike ahead of Rose Parade and bowl game
January 2, 2024 // Workers across Los Angeles hotels have been engaged in ongoing labor disputes with employers since July, in what the Unite Here Local 11 union calls the largest hotel worker strike in modern history. The workers' primary goals include wage increases to keep pace with the soaring cost of housing in Los Angeles, quality and affordable health insurance and humane workloads, according to Unite Here Local 11, which staged walkouts at hotels across Southern California and Arizona over the summer.
Unions made 2023 the year of the strike. What will happen next?
December 28, 2023 // Potential workplace disputes dot next year’s calendar, even if few approach the size of the high-profile confrontations of 2023. Contracts covering 60,000 film and television crew workers are set to expire in July; while an agreement concerning 220,000 postal workers will come up for renewal in September 2024, according to an analysis from the pro-worker outlet Labor Notes.
Commentary: The Hollywood Strikes Stopped AI From Taking Your Job. But for How Long?
December 28, 2023 // The “learn to code” crowd has all new ammo. Even Biden’s executive order was clear about the fact that the US government wanted to attract the best and brightest in the field. But that’s job creation, not job displacement. New technologies create jobs all the time, but with AI, some of those jobs pay pennies. What’s more, AI can also ask you to train it to do your job before picking up your tools. Going forward, the likelihood that AI will displace many entry-level jobs while creating a few highly skilled gigs seems high. The biggest questions in AI right now nearly all revolve around what these machines are learning from people, whether it’s human skill or human bias.
Pizza Hut franchisees lay off more than 1,200 delivery drivers in California as restaurants brace for $20 fast-food wages
December 26, 2023 // Mark Kalinowski, a restaurant-industry analyst, wrote in a note this week that he expected "more harm to come" in various ways as fast-food chains "take action in an attempt to blunt the impact of higher labor costs." Chains such as Chipotle and McDonald's said they planned to pass the costs of higher wages in California to customers by raising menu prices. In 2022, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California signed the FAST Act into law. It called for the minimum wage for fast-food workers to increase to $22 an hour in 2023. But corporate chains such as McDonald's, Chipotle, and Chick-fil-A, as well as franchise advocacy groups, fought the law. A coalition of restaurant-industry organizations said the law could raise costs for fast-food restaurants by $3 billion. They rallied to get a referendum on the ballot.
More SoCal hotel workers agree to new deal with Marriott, Hilton
December 18, 2023 // More than 1,700 housekeepers, cooks, dishwashers, servers and front desk workers signed the deal, according to Unite Here Local 11, which said 20 high-end Southland hotels have now signed new contract agreements. Those employees work at the Irvine Marriott, W Hotel Westwood, SLS Beverly Hills, Westin LAX, Sheraton Grand DTLA, JW Marriott LA Live, Ritz-Carlton LA Live, Courtyard Marriott DTLA, Residence Inn DTLA and Hilton Irvine. - Language improvements, including historic Equal Justice language that, among other things, will help to provide access to union jobs for formerly incarcerated individuals and unprecedented protections for immigrant workers.