Anaheim Resort Hotel Workers Stage Picket Protests for $25 Hourly Wage
Raucous picket protests hit the sidewalks outside the Hilton and Sheraton Park Hotel in the Anaheim Resort. Hotel workers represented by Unite Here Local 11 banged on drums yesterday afternoon while chanting “Sí, se puede!” The noise from the all-day picket intended to send a message loud and clear that workers are ready to fight for a contract that ups wages to $25 an hour.
Resort-area hotel workers took action in conjunction with other pickets at the Westin Bonaventure, Fairmont Miramar and Beverly Wilshire hotels in Los Angeles County. In all, 7,500 workers at 24 hotels across LA and OC overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike if five key contract negotiation demands aren’t met. The union is seeking affordable health insurance, sexual harassment panic buttons, better pensions, workplace protections for immigrant workers and a $25 hourly wage by the end of a four-year contract.
“The truth is there’s nothing more essential than being together speaking with one voice,” said Ada Briceño, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, in Spanish during a rally outside the Hilton at dusk. “We feel great pride knowing that 96 percent of all the workers decided to go on strike.” The labor leader told hotel workers that if the bosses at the Hilton and Sheraton didn’t compromise on the five points, they’d be faced with a strike.
According to the union, this year has seen more hotel strikes across the country than any other with Unite Here involved in 17 work stoppages alone–including in Boston where the Dodgers infamously crossed the picket line at the Ritz-Carlton during the World Series. Month-long strikes in Hawaii and San Francisco recently ended with contract settlements on the eve of the new labor disputes in Southern California.
Read more: https://ocweekly.com/anaheim-resort-hotel-workers-stage-picket-protests-for-25-hourly-wage/