Every week at All Saints Church we put our faith into action. This week the focus of our action is economic justice for hard-pressed and underpaid hospitality workers. We are petitioning the University of California, which has an ownership stake in three hotels in southern California that are on strike, to pressure management to come to an equitable agreement with their employees.
David Stookey stands in the blazing sun as he holds his Unite Here Local 11 sign. He is a front-desk agent in a Los Angeles Hotel that has been overwhelmed with work while his wages have remained stagnant. He describes how the hotel has kept at “pandemic staffing but pre-pandemic occupancy,” so he joined the largest strike in California history. (1)
Several hotels have come to agreements with their workers, but not University of California-owned Laguna Cliffs Marriott. And so, the workers have taken to the streets again, even though the temperatures are high and they have had eggs and even urine thrown at them. (2)
Worse, the Marriott has brought in temporary workers for low pay and no benefits. These workers are mostly Black, despite the hotel’s history of not hiring Black workers in the past — but the Marriott is happy to exploit them now. (3)
Unite Here Local 11 is demanding that the hotels come to a fair deal with the strikers and hire on the temporary workers full-time.
The University of California Pension Fund — the owners of the Marriott — is a $91 billion operation. (4) But the hotel had the audacity to offer a seventy-five cent raise. (5)
Health care costs are skyrocketing, but the hotels are squeezing benefits and cutting hours for its loyal employees. These are workers that were left adrift during the pandemic while wealthy hotel owners were bailed out.
We need to show the hotel workers our support, especially those at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott. Several hotels have already successfully negotiated contracts — Help put the pressure on the UC Pension Fund to treat the workers fairly.
Please sign the petition to University of California.
Footnotes:
1. https://www.latinorebels.com/2023/07/25/meetlahotelworkersstrike/
2. https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-07-24/southern-california-hotel-strike-beverly-hilton-waldorf-astoria
3. Ibid.
4. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://act.couragecampaign.org/go/51564?t=20&akid=14261%2E908510%2EuPBqGz
5. https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-07-24/southern-california-hotel-strike-beverly-hilton-waldorf-astoria
Options to Take Action:
- Sign a letter at the Action Table on Sunday.
- Download, sign and mail an action letter here.
- Click here and go to the Unite Here Local 11 action.
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If you ever need to look up your member of the U.S. House of Representatives or your U.S. Senators check here: www.house.gov and www.senate.gov.
To find contact information for your California State Senator or California State Assemblymember check here: www.senate.ca.gov and www.assembly.ca.gov.
Take Action
Every week at All Saints Church we put our faith into action. This week our focus is economic justice for hard-pressed and underpaid hospitality workers. We are petitioning the University of California, which has an ownership stake in three hotels in southern California that are on strike, to pressure management to come to an equitable agreement with their employees.