LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As Oscar weekend begins, over a hundred protestors--including laid off Chateau Marmont workers-- gathered outside the awards show after-party hotspot to call attention to the snowballing boycott at the hotel.
The action came a day after Oscar-Nominated Director Aaron Sorkin pulled filming of the major production Being the Ricardos, starring Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem, from the hotel due to the ongoing labor dispute, honoring the boycott at the Chateau Marmont.
The protest had an awards show theme to celebrate the decades of service that fired Chateau Marmont workers gave to “Hollywood’s Playground” and that the workers have events planned throughout Oscar weekend calling attention to the boycott at the hotel.
“We applaud Aaron Sorkin, Martin Sheen, Amanda Seyfried and dozens of other celebrities who support the boycott of the Chateau Marmont. It is official: Hollywood has left the Chateau Marmont. They are only coming back when the bartenders, servers, and room attendants return to their jobs and have a workplace free of harassment and abuse,” said Kurt Petersen, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11.
Through the highly publicized boycott of the Chateau Marmont, workers are calling on the hotel to demonstrate a commitment to respecting workers’ years of service by rehiring them in accordance with their legal rights and ensuring that all workers—regardless of their race, sex, or background—feel treated with dignity and respect.
“I never really saw myself as a leader but when we were fired I realized I needed to fight back for myself, my coworkers and my family,” said Walter Almendarez, who worked as a bellman at the Chateau Marmont for 26 years.
A growing number of celebrities have endorsed the workers’ call for a boycott, including Jane Fonda, Alfonso Cuarón, Martin Sheen, Tom Morello, Edie Falco, Lena Headey, Constance Zimmer, Nikki Bilderback, Thomas Sadoski, Joshua Oppenhimer, Eliza Dushku, Amanda Seyfried, Christopher Abbott, Sarah Silverman, Daveed Diggs and Alison Pill. Organizations like SAG-AFTRA have also voiced their support for the fired workers.
It has been over a year since the Chateau Marmont fired more than 200 of its workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving workers who had dedicated decades of their lives to the hotel without job security or company-provided healthcare. Since then, many of the hotel’s workers have spoken out about their experiences working at the hotel, prompting concern from community leaders and the call for a boycott.
According to public records, the Chateau Marmont was approved for a $1.95 million PPP loan on February 5, 2021, and as of April 13 the loan had been disbursed but not paid in full or charged off, according to the SBA. UNITE HERE Local 11 has asked the U.S Small Business Administration to conduct an inquiry to ensure the hotel complies with Paycheck Protection Loan requirements.
UNITE HERE Local 11 is a labor union representing over 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona who work in hotels, restaurants, universities, convention centers, and airports.