Posts tagged Southern California
Op-ed: Is anyone in charge of Los Angeles?
August 12, 2025 // LWithin days, the LA Alliance for Tourism, Jobs and Progress — whose $3 million budget comes primarily from Delta Airlines, United Airlines and the American Hotel & Lodging Association — filed paperwork to put a citizen’s-veto referendum before voters in 2026. (Plummer is among the small businesspeople listed as the measure’s official proponents.) It would take 92,000 signatures to reach the ballot, but just filing the referendum had an immediate impact: delaying implementation of the law’s first planned pay increase on July 1, to $22.50 per hour. Frustrated by the possibility that years of lobbying could be wiped away with a corporate-backed campaign, organized labor launched a counteroffensive. In June, Unite Here Local 11 — which represents 32,000 workers across Southern California hotels, airports and sports arenas — filed a package of four ballot initiatives.
Some LA County cities see disruption of trash pickup as workers honor picket line, strike in Boston
July 16, 2025 // Some workers in Southern California have been honoring the strike in an effort to put pressure on Republic Services. Although there is no contract dispute in Los Angeles County, lack of trash pickup has affected cities including Rosemead, Inglewood, Compton and Whittier and Santa Fe Springs. In Orange County, affected cities include Santa Ana and Anaheim. Customers received calls and text messages from Republic Services, saying the company was actively negotiating with union members in Boston amid an effort to resolve the labor dispute
$30 Minimum Wage Has L.A. Hotel Owners in Revolt
June 24, 2025 // Now, hotel owners have to contend with what local union leaders say will be the highest minimum wage in the country. The city council voted last month to boost the wage for workers in hotels with 60 rooms or more. Hourly pay, currently $20.32, will increase every year until it reaches $30 in 2028. The industry is mounting an effort to roll back the new minimum-wage law. Los Angeles hotel owners are petitioning to suspend the city’s new ordinance, and several hotel owners have also threatened to pull out of agreements to provide blocks of rooms during the Olympic Games. Some hoteliers say they were already eager to exit L.A., if only they could find an offramp. “We would love to sell” our L.A. hotels, said Jon Bortz, chief executive of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, which owns two hotels in the city and seven more in the L.A. area. “But nobody will buy them.”
Southern California Kaiser Mental Health Workers Enter Second Week of Strike
October 29, 2024 // The union added that one-fourth of the 1,508 mental health professionals hired by Kaiser’s Southern California region between January 2021 and September 2024 have already left their positions.
CVS workers picket across Southern California as strike continues
October 21, 2024 // The union said the strike is supposed to last a few days, but workers could walk out again if the company doesn’t meet demands. CVS has laid off thousands of corporate workers in recent months amid a restructure at the top. The UFCW said while seven Southern California stores are currently on strike, more could join if a second walk out is approved in the coming days and weeks.
Workers at downtown Phoenix hotel strike during Final Four
April 9, 2024 // The news release alleges the unlawful behavior hotel management participated in includes alleged interrogation and alleged surveillance tactics, as well as the alleged unlawful termination of two union employees. "We are saddened that the NCAA made the choice to book the teams playing in the Final Four in at least two hotels who have refused to pay a living wage for the last nine months," UNITE HERE 11 said in a statement posted to "X," formerly known as Twitter. Marriott provided this statement to 12News: "We understand that Unite Here representatives have been actively encouraging our downtown Phoenix hotel associates to engage in a work stoppage since this morning. All of our associates scheduled to work at the Renaissance and Westin and approximately two-thirds of those scheduled to work at the Sheraton came to work today. We respect those associates who exercised their right to refrain from working and those who chose to come to work. We remain available and willing to negotiate in good faith for a fair contract that is in the best interest of our associates, our guests, and our owners.
Disneyland’s Mickey Mouse and Cinderella performers may unionize
February 20, 2024 // Labor organizers announced the campaign Tuesday, saying performers want better safety conditions and scheduling policies to help them keep the magic alive for visitors. While most of the more than 35,000 workers at the Disneyland Resort in Southern California already have labor unions, about 1,700 performers in parades, character actors and support staff do not.
Striking Workers Battle Hotel Owned By Union Pension Fund
February 16, 2024 // Unite Here had strategically lined up its hotel contracts to expire at the same time to increase its leverage with the industry. The unusually tight labor market has also buoyed unions more generally in their recent contract fights, with low unemployment making it harder for employers to replace workers on the cheap.
Unions’ power ebbs and flows
November 6, 2023 // Unionization efforts have expanded but many are taking place where there is little history of organized labor, creating a higher bar for workers. Colvin points to Starbucks workers who have seen union drives clipped in the last year. Starbucks has been accused of chilling organization by closing unionized stores and firing pro-union workers. There are also limits for organizers under current labor law. That means that what worked in the auto workers' labor campaign, for example, may not be possible for other industries.
Why the hotel workers in Las Vegas might be the next big strike
October 15, 2023 // Rogers, Martinez, Buie, and their coworkers are now waiting to find out what comes next. Culinary 226 remains locked in negotiations for a new five-year contract. With the membership primed to strike, there’s no telling how long it will be before Striketober comes to the Strip. If—and when—the call comes, though, they will be ready. “I voted yes to authorize a strike because I’m fighting for my family and for our future,” Maria Sanchez, a guest room attendant at the Bellagio and Culinary Union member, said in a statement. “The workload since the pandemic has been intense, and when I get home I’m so tired and I don’t have energy to take my two kids to the park or play with them. . . . I voted yes to win the best contract ever so that I can work one job and come home to spend time with my children.”