Posts tagged UNITE HERE Local 11
Hotel Maya and union workers reach agreement after months of strikes, walkouts
April 25, 2024 // Employees at the Maya and dozens of other Southern California hotels have staged strikes and boycotts since July as part of a campaign by their union, Unite Here Local 11, which represents 32,000 hospitality workers in the region. The dispute at the Maya has involved dueling complaints that the union was bargaining in bad faith and that workers were subjected to violence on the picket line, including allegations that a striking worker was grabbed and yelled at by a hotel investor, something the investor denied. In August, an altercation also resulted in a striking Maya worker being punched in the head by an unknown man, according to video of the incident.
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.
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.
The Restaurant Group Behind a Popular Downtown Hotel Closes Five Restaurants, Lays Off 100 Unionizing Employees
February 14, 2024 // Through Unite Here Local 11, the hotel’s restaurant and bar workers filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board in January 2024 that accused Noble 33 of suppressing labor organizing among its staff. According to the report, “Noble 33 contends that its contract with Hotel Figueroa stipulates that the unionization of food and beverage employees would trigger a kill clause between both parties.” However, Hotel Figueroa and Unite Here Local 11 deny this claim.
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.
Hotel Wage Petition Fails to Meet Signature Deadline
January 29, 2024 // Unite Here Local 11, the union representing thousands of housekeepers, restaurant workers and front desk staff in Southern California and Arizona, filed a petition to raise the minimum wage of hotel workers in Beverly Hills to $30 per hour on July 25. They had 180 days from then to gather signatures from at least 10% of the city’s registered voters, roughly 2,200 residents. The petition was submitted as walkouts and picket lines formed at about 60 hotels throughout Southern California, including the three unionized hotels in Beverly Hills: the Beverly Hilton, Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills and Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel. The demonstrations drew widespread media coverage that helped build support for striking workers, and tentative agreements between the management of those three properties and Unite Here were reached in December. Union members must vote to ratify the deals before they are confirmed. Details regarding pay and benefits in the deal brokered by Unite Here and the hotels had not been publicly released as of press time.
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.
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.
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.”
Diamondbacks Respond to Team Decision to Cross Strike Picket Lines for Series vs Dodgers
October 11, 2023 // With the Arizona Diamondbacks in Los Angeles to face the Dodgers for Games one and two of the NLDS, the club found itself in hot water online after it was revealed that they crossed a union picket line to stay at the JW Marriot L.A. Live hotel in Downtown LA. The issue was brought up by UNITE HERE Local 11, which is a union of more than 32,000 hotel, convention center, restaurant and sports area workers in Southern California and Arizona.