Unionized hotel workers reach deal with biggest employer on eve of July 4 weekend and planned strike

As Los Angeles braces for the largest U.S. hotel worker strike in recent memory, the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in downtown L.A. announced it reached a tentative deal for higher pay and benefits Wednesday evening with the union representing its employees.

More than 15,000 union employees at 62 hotels in Los Angeles and Orange counties are scheduled to walk off the job as soon as Saturday after their contracts expire at midnight on June 30. They are seeking higher pay, which might allow them to live in more expensive areas closer to their jobs, as well as improved benefits and working conditions.

The Bonaventure deal is the first among many that will be needed to avert the planned strike. According to Unite Here Local 11 co-President Kurt Petersen, workers are slated to ratify the deal in the coming days and the agreement will set a standard for other hotels in the region. The Bonaventure is the largest among the hotels in Los Angeles, with more than 600 workers.

*** Although the exact details of the agreement have not been ratified yet, Petersen said the deal fulfills the “five pillars” of the union’s bargaining plan. Bonaventure workers will receive higher wages, affordable health insurance at less than $20 per month and increases in pension contributions. The agreement also addresses the reduction in daily room cleanings, guaranteeing a restoration of staffing to pre-pandemic levels. Workers who are not currently part of a union will have an opportunity to join unions without intimidation.

In particular, the tentative agreement removes barriers for those who are formerly incarcerated to get hotel jobs and bans E-Verify for applicants so that workers will not be discriminated against because of their immigration status.

The E-verify provision is absurd. CBP should have officers stationed outside any hotel that signs this deal.

Why is the union protecting jobs for illegals?

1 posted on 06/30/2023 12:06:29 PM PDT by KingofZion

“In particular, the tentative agreement removes barriers for those who are formerly incarcerated to get hotel jobs and bans E-Verify…”

This hotel hires felons to go through your stuff and steal your valuables.

2 posted on 06/30/2023 12:09:38 PM PDT by ConservativeMind (Trump: Befuddling Democrats, Republicans, and the Media for the benefit of the US and all mankind.)

You get what you voted for.

3 posted on 06/30/2023 12:14:49 PM PDT by sauropod (“If they don’t believe our lies, well, that’s just conspiracy theorist stuff, there.”)

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