Why It Matters
Southern California workers in a variety of industries have threatened to strike or be out of work in recent months, showing an unusual level of solidarity with other unions as they push for higher wages and better working conditions.
Dockworkers disrupted operations for weeks at the colossal ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach until they reached a tentative agreement in June. And screenwriters have been standing guard outside the gates of Hollywood studios for about two months.
Hugo Soto-Martinez, a Los Angeles City Council member who worked as organizer of Unite Here Local 11, said the extent to which the industry was caught up in a labor struggle exemplified frustration especially among young workers, who have seen inequalities widen and opportunities evaporate.
“This is homelessness, this is housing costs,” he said. “I think people understand the problem in a much clearer way.”
The hotel workers' strike comes just as the summer tourism season picks up, and labor leaders say they hope to capitalize on the momentum.
Last year, tourism in the city reached its highest level since the coronavirus pandemic. according to to the Los Angeles Convention and Tourism Board. About 46 million people visited, and there were total business sales of $34.5 billion by 2022, up 91 percent of the record set in 2019.
But for many workers like Diana Rios-Sanchez, who worked as a housekeeper at the Los Angeles Downtown InterContinental, her paycheck didn't help keep pace with inflation.
She often wondered how long she and her three children, who live in a one-bedroom apartment in El Sereno, a neighborhood on the east side of Los Angeles, could afford to live in the city.
“All we do in the hotel is work and work and survive on very little,” said Ms. Rios-Sanchez. “We take care of the tourists, but no one takes care of us.”
Business groups say that simply demanding that employers pay workers more does not address the much deeper problems that have led to California's high cost of living.
Background
Unions have been negotiating since April for a new contract. In June, members agreed to a strike.
The group has requested that hourly wages, now $20 and $25 for domestic help, be increased by $5 immediately, followed by an increase of $3 in each subsequent year of the three-year contract.
Instead, Mr. Grossman said in his statement that the hotel had offered to raise the wages of housekeepers currently making $25 per hour in Beverly Hills and downtown Los Angeles to more than $31 per hour in January 2027.
On Thursday, the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites, a large downtown Los Angeles hotel, announced that it had ended its workers' strike by contract agreement.
The deals made this year will set payout rates ahead of the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics, which are expected to be huge tourist draws to the region.
What's next
Mr Petersen said on Sunday the strike would last for “a few days”. The Los Angeles Hotel Association said in a statement that hotels will be able to continue serving visitors.
Anna Betts reporting contribution.