Writers and actors aren’t the only ones on strike in Los Angeles.
On Thursday morning, thousands of hotel workers in Southern California walked out on strike and picketed their employers in “the largest multi-hotel strike in California history,” according to Unite Here Local 11, the union representing the workers.
The workers also walked off the job for the Fourth of July weekend.
The workers are seeking better pay and benefits, including raises that will allow them to live closer to the hotels where they work instead of commuting multiple hours a day, the union said.
“Only the Westin Bonaventure has reached an agreement with UNITE HERE Local 11 that includes a living wage that will allow workers to afford to live in the city where they work,” Unite Here said in a press release.
That leaves 59 other hotels who have not reached a deal after the contract with the union expired at the end of June. The new contract would affect almost 15,000 workers.
In posts to Twitter, the union said strikes have targeted hotels in Hollywood, West Hollywood, Pasadena and San Pedro.
The disruptions seem to be impacting the hotels’ business, with strikes forcing changes of plans for groups like the Democratic Governors Association and the television show “Vanderpump Rules.”
The union’s next target is the American Political Science Association, which expects to bring 6,000 attendees to a conference in L.A. at the end of August.
“Traveling to LA? Don’t be a scab!,” Unite Here said.
The hotel workers are joining a movement that some are calling a “hot labor summer,” where people in a variety of industries join together to push for better pay for workers amid high inflation and record profits for many businesses.
Other potential strikes include UPS workers and Southwest Airlines pilots.
Brenden Gallagher, a TV writer who joined the hotel workers on their picket lines, told The Washington Post that “our fight is the same fight.”
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a writer or a hotel worker, this city is not livable,” Gallagher said.
