Thousands of hotel workers strike in Southern California

Unionized hotel workers on Sunday walked off the job after contracts at more than 60 hotels expired Friday. Cooks, servers, front desk attendants, and other workers have demanded better benefits, less strenuous workloads, and higher pay to keep pace with rising housing costs. The strike affects more than half of the Unite Here Local 11’s 32,000 members across California and Arizona.

Have there been any signs of progress in negotiations? The union last week reached a tentative deal with its biggest employer, the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in downtown Los Angeles. The agreement provides higher pay and increased staffing levels. A coalition of more than 40 other hotels said the union refused to negotiate its opening demand of a 40 percent wage increase plus a benefits increase two months ago. The hotels have offered wage increases of $2.50 per hour for the first year and $6.25 over four years. 

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report in Muse about the ongoing writers’ strike in California.