The Strike Started On July 2, and Picket Lines Will Be Active All Over Town
By Dolores Quintana
As we reported last week, UNITE Here Local 11 was considering a strike because of the deadline for the union contract’s expiration on June 30, 2023. The strike was officially called on July 2, this weekend, and union workers and leaders have been walking the picket line at hotels all over the city. The press release from the union stated, “This morning, thousands of cooks, room attendants, dishwashers, servers, bellmen, and front desk agents at multiple properties walked out on the largest multi-hotel strike in the union’s history.”
At 11:30 a.m. on Monday, July 3, UNITE Here 11 held a meeting in front of the Fairmont Miramar Hotel. Union leaders from all over the country and two Santa Monica City Council members were in attendance, Caroline Torosis and Jesse Zwick; they all spoke before the crowd of union members. Members of other local unions, like the Writers Guild West, were there to support the strike as well.
At the picket line in front of the hotel, I spoke to Liliana Hernandez, one of the housekeepers at the hotel:
Dolores Quintana: Please tell me a little bit about yourself.
Liliana Hernandez: My name is Liliana Hernandez, and I have been a housekeeper at the Fairmont Miramar since 2012.
Dolores Quintana: Okay, and could you tell me a little bit about why you’re on strike?
LH: We are on strike because the company hasn’t signed the contract. We’ve been asking them to sign it since April 20. They didn’t show up to the negotiations once, and the other issue is that they haven’t offered enough to keep up with our insurance, the pension, and especially the wages we are asking for.
Dolores Quintana: I know it’s really expensive to live in Los Angeles City, LA County, in Santa Monica in particular, very expensive. Are you able to live in Santa Monica?
LH: No, I don’t live in Santa Monica. I live in East Hollywood, and I spent almost two hours getting here by bus. Because the rent is so expensive in Santa Monica, we couldn’t afford it. Not any one of us we could not afford to live here on the wages that we are paid now.
Dolores Quintana: You bring up a good point; even on mass transit, it still takes a long time to get anywhere and two hours both ways on public transit. That’s pretty tough.
LH: Yeah. It’s really tough for us.
Dolores Quintana: Especially since it’s not always on time. What do you want from your employer?
LH: We want what is fair, for our wages. What we deserve. After Covid, it’s been a rough time for everyone. They get millions of dollars in PPP loans, and we didn’t get any of that. So they say, “Oh, we’re family. We appreciate your work.” Show that to us. Sign the contract right away. They have the pen.
Dolores Quintana: You want the hotel owners to show you you are family rather than just telling you you are.
LH: Yes.
