LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On the eve of Labor Day, UNITE HERE Local 11 notched another victory in the nation’s largest hotel strike. Workers at the Westin Long Beach unanimously ratified their new contract. Under the new agreement, workers will receive an immediate $5 an hour raise and another $6.25 an hour over 3.5 years, amounting to total wage increases of $11.25 an hour, with wages increasing by 60% during the contract. The contract will expire on January 15, 2028, months before the Olympics arrive in Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Since July 2023, 10,000 workers have struck more than 175 times, from Arizona to Anaheim to Los Angeles and Long Beach. The contract transfers more than $1 billion from the hotel industry to hotel workers.
“We are so excited. We fought so hard. We picketed and struck and organized actions to show we will not stop until we get what we deserve. And now we have won a life changing agreement. There were lots of tears of joy at our ratification vote,” said Juana Melara, housekeeper at Westin Long Beach.
“The hotel industry repeatedly underestimated the determination and tenacity of the workers. They tried to demoralize and divide us with firings, threats, and violence, but it has only made us stronger,” said Kurt Petersen, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11. “We now need a New Deal for the Olympics. The current scheme is for developers, airbnb and hotels to reap enormous profits while working people shoulder the costs. Our members have shown they will do whatever it takes to ensure the Olympics lift up working people.”
Hotel workers at 73 hotels have now ratified new agreements. It contains the largest economic increase of any industry in recent labor history. The agreement transforms hotel jobs into family-sustaining professional positions. In addition to the historic wage increase, Westin workers won:
- Guaranteed pre-pandemic staffing levels and mandatory daily room cleaning
- One of the nation’s highest pensions for service workers
- 50 pages of improvements, including Juneteenth as a paid holiday and unprecedented rights for immigrants and workers impacted by the carceral system
The fight continues at Cameo Beverly Hills and Hilton Garden Inn in El Segundo.
UNITE HERE Local 11 is a labor union representing more than 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona who work in hotels, restaurants, universities, convention centers and airports.
