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Thousands of Southern California hotel workers have approved new contracts with 34 hotels after multiple strikes since the summer
LOS ANGELES — Thousands of Southern California hotel workers have overwhelmingly approved new contracts with 34 hotels after multiple strikes since the summer, the union announced Monday.
In a summary of the key points of the agreement, which is valid until January 15, 2028, Unite Here Local 11 said workers won higher wages, increased employer contributions to superannuation and fair workload guarantees, as well as 98 % approval rate of other terms of the contract. The alliance has yet to reach settlements with the other 30 hotels.
The union said wages for housekeepers, cooks and other non-tipped workers will increase by $10 an hour, an increase of 40 to 50 percent, over the life of the contract. Half of the growth will occur in the first year.
The union said that by July 2027, housekeepers at most hotels will earn $35 an hour and top chefs will earn $41 an hour. Tipped workers will see improvements such as double pay for vacation, vacation, and sick days and an increase in their share of service charges. The automatic 20% tip at full-service restaurants will be 100% shared by employees.
The union also emphasized that health insurance is retained in the contract, and workers can receive full family coverage for a monthly fee of no more than $20.
“We won a life-changing contract that transformed hospitality jobs from low-wage service jobs into middle-class professional positions,” Local 11 co-president Kurt Petersen told employees at a rally outside a downtown Los Angeles hotel.
Restaurant unions involved in negotiations with the union welcomed the deal.
“The ratification vote has been a long time coming. We are pleased that our hotel employees who have been waiting for months can now take advantage of the benefits of the new contract, including increased pay, and continue the great work they do for our guests and communities,” Cal hotel spokesman Pete Hillan said. and lodging associations.
In July 2023, more than 10,000 employees in the greater Los Angeles area began going on strike at 52 hotels. Their demands were for wages so that members could live in the city where they work. Workers repeatedly struck, picketed, and later returned to work. The union represents 15,000 workers, but some hotel workers are not participating in the strike.
Just before the strike wave hit, the union scored a major achievement, reaching a tentative agreement with its largest employer, the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in downtown Los Angeles, which employs more than 600 union workers. . Other restaurants are gradually coming to terms with strike action.
Peterson also pointed out that the new contract expires a few months before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“We are asking for a new deal for the Olympics that includes jobs that keep families and affordable housing for workers. Let me say, if they don’t give us a new deal, are we ready to act?” he said. elicited cheers from the workers.
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Associated Press writer Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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