Dozens of cooks, housekeepers, dishwashers, bellmen and others continued their walkout at the Hilton Pasadena and Hyatt Place Pasadena on Tuesday, Jan 2 as they fight for higher wages and better working conditions.
The action, which began at dawn on New Years Eve, is part of a massive strike involving 15,000 workers from 60 Southern California hotels that began over the July 4th weekend. Employees at the Hilton staged another walkout earlier in December.
Teresa Perez, a housekeeper at Hyatt Place, earns a little more than $18 an hour and says it’s not enough.
“If I got a raise it would make it easier to pay bills, pay rent and support my family,” the 59-year-old East Los Angeles resident said. “It’s very hard to live on the wages I make.”
Perez says she’s also overworked.
“We have very heavy workloads,” she said. “I have to clean about 15 rooms a day, and we’re expected to do it within eight hours … there’s so much work to do.”
More than 20 hotels have reached tentative labor agreements with Unite Here Local 11, which represents the 15,000 hotels workers, including 125 at the two Pasadena locations.
They include the Irvine Marriott, W Hotel Westwood, SLS Beverly Hills, Westin LAX, Sheraton Grand Los Angeles, JW Marriott LA Live, Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles, Courtyard by Marriott Los Angeles, Residence Inn by Marriott Los Angeles and Hilton Irvine, among others.
Unite Here spokewoman Maria Teresa Kamel said the walkout at the Hilton Pasadena and Hyatt Place Pasadena was expected to end Tuesday, although further walkouts could happen if a contract isn’t reached soon.
Their last bargaining session was in October and another meeting has yet to be scheduled.
Union officials claim Aimbridge Hospitality and Ensemble Hospitality, respective operators of the Hilton Pasadena and Hyatt Place Pasadena, have “consistently refused to meet the new hotel contract standards.”
Hotel Maya, an Emsemble property, recently came under fire for being the site of violence against a hotel worker for the second time since August, the union said.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Aimbridge said it is “continuing conversations with the union and remains focused on reaching an agreement that puts our associates and their best interests at the center.”
Representatives with Ensemble could not be reached.
The hotel workers are seeking an immediate $5 acoss-the-board pay increase for all employees, as well as affordable health insurance, a pension “to retire with dignity,” and “humane workloads.”
Many say they’re overworked because there aren’t enough employees on staff.
Antonio Trejo has worked at the Hilton Pasadena for 23 years and makes about $20 an hour as a prep cook, dishwasher and storeroom worker. He fears he may not secure a wage increase.
“With inflation, it’s very hard to buy groceries now,” he said.
Southern California has emerged as ground zero for union action in recent years, with picketing and strikes at hospitals, fast-food locations, Starbucks and hotels throughout the region.
Southland economist Robert Kleinhez ties the movement to a few factors.
“The distribution of income in the U.S. has tilted in favor of higher income workers and households,” he said. “That’s been going on for decades.”
Kleinhenz said lower-income workers are especially hampered by high housing costs.
“The cost of living in Southern California is among the highest in the country due to restrictions on housing density and production,” he said. “We’ve legislated laws that essentially guarantee a high cost of living, and now they’re trying to raise wages for hotel workers.”
