The Effect Of Hotel Workers’ Strike On Wages And Housing

Worker welfare is a primary reason for strikes worldwide, as employees seek better wages and benefits to improve their living standards.

That is why thousands of Los Angeles hotel workers went on strike in July 2023 to demand wage increases and improved benefits.

Many of the low-wage earners complained that they lived far away from their workplaces because they could not afford housing in the high-brow region.

It was one of the largest hotel worker strikes to hit the United States hospitality industry recently, as 15,000 workers serving over 60 major hotels in Orange and Los Angeles counties downed tools. They declared the industrial action a day after their contract expired.

Hotel Workers Strike: The Timing Of The Strike And The Politics Behind It

The industrial action began during the July Fourth holiday, a peak period for Southern California tourism.

The timing became a major topic among stakeholders because it also overlapped with a Hollywood screenwriters’ industrial action heading into its ninth week. This action affected California’s economy and the showbiz subsector.

While hospitality industry profits soared during the COVID-19 pandemic, many hotel workers—housekeepers, cooks, bellhops, front-desk agents, dishwashers, and waiters—stayed idle. The workers’ union blamed its members’ devastation on the pandemic and their employers’ greed.

However, a hospitality bargaining group representing over 40 hotels claimed the workers’ union was political. The group alleged that the union had not negotiated in good faith but had interrogated the strike as an organizing tool.

According to the union, the strike achieved its purpose because many workers walked off their duty posts at once, with many others following suit. Union spokesperson Maria Hernandez described the hotel workers’ strike as strategic, noting that it initially targeted high-profile hotels.

“However, the industry bargaining group kept its hotels open through non-union staff and the management,” noted workers’ compensation law attorney Ryan Vego from Glauber Berenson Vego LLP.

The union was able to strike a deal with its foremost employers, the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in downtown Los Angeles. Hernandez said the agreement averted an industrial action against the hotel. She urged the Coordinated Bargaining Group to take a cue from the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites.

The Two Parallel Sides

The Coordinated Bargaining Group represented 44 unionized hotels in the county. The remaining 21 hotels would abide by the outcome of the group’s effort.

Union members currently earn $20–$25 per hour and sought an immediate increase to $25–$30 per hour. The union also proposed an additional $3 hourly in subsequent years of the agreement. Furthermore, it demanded enhanced healthcare and retirement benefits for hotel workers.

However, the bargaining group offered a counter-proposal of a $2.50 wage increase per hour in the first year and $6.25 over four years for most employees.

The industry offered that housekeepers in Beverly Hills earning $25 per hour get a ten percent rise in 2024. However, it would exceed $31 by 2027.

Further, the workers’ union, Unite Here, demanded the establishment of a hospitality workforce housing fund. According to the management, they will fund the proposal with a new seven percent tax on lodgers at unionized hotels.

Unite Here referenced survey results indicating that 53% of hotel workers have been forced to relocate in the past five years or are at risk of moving due to high housing costs. Many union members have to travel several hours from their homes to their workplaces.

The New Law

A new law was passed by the Los Angeles City Council on June 28, 2022, to “ensure their workers’ safety and fair compensation.”

And they aim to do that by imposing some new requirements, like personal security devices, a higher minimum wage along with some other security requirements.

This law is called the “Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance,” and took effect on August 12, 2022. The law applies to all hotel workers.

Moreover, the law states that the hotel is responsible for not just their violations, but for the violations of the contractors as well. There are certain key requirements that the law states.

Expansion of Minimum Wage Hike

From August 12, 2022, a hotel with 60 or more guest rooms will have to give a minimum wage of $18.86 per hour to its workers. Previously, it was $17.64 per hour.

Panic Buttons

All hotel workers would be allocated a “personal security device” or a panic button when they are assigned to a restroom or a guest room where no other person is present. If the device is activated, the location of the worker will be sent to the security guards or responsible supervisor.

Training Requirements & Guest Room Notice

Hotels have to post notices on the restroom doors and inside the guest rooms that they have provided their workers with personal security devices. The ordinance has specific guidelines about posting the notice.

Moreover, the hotel has to train its workers to use these devices, and others on how to respond when the device is activated.

Worker’s Rights

The new law states specific rights for hotel workers. For instance, an employee should be given specific time off to report threatening conduct or violence to law enforcement and get some time off for counseling if they want to.

Workload Limitations

If a hotel has more than 45 guest rooms, there are specific guidelines about the amount of square footage a hotel can ask its workers to clean in one day.

Hotels with more than 60 guest rooms have a limitation of 3,500 square feet. And hotels that have 45 to 60 guest rooms should clean a maximum of 4,000 square feet.

Voluntary Overtime

Without any emergency of written consent from an employee, a hotel can ask workers to work more than 10 hours in one day. Even if the employee asks for it, there is a specific protocol that the hotel will have to follow.

Recordkeeping

This part is not just limited to Los Angeles, and other cities have to keep a record of their guests as well. However, for Los Angeles, they have to keep a record of the past three years of the employees and the guests.

Retaliation

Hotels cannot retaliate if an employee is exercising their right under this new law. If the hotel takes any action against the employee within a year of them exercising their rights, they will have to provide a solid reason in writing for its actions.

Remedies

The ordinance lets the person claiming violation get a compelling compliance if necessary. Those who are responsible for the violation have to pay for any damages caused to the affected person. This compensation can $100 to $1000 depending on the damages.

Los Angeles In The Eye Of The Storm

Los Angeles faced many labor storms in 2023. It battled with the protracted strike of Hollywood screenwriters. Moreover, they also saw a three-day strike by the educational support staff of the Los Angeles Unified School District in March, apart from the hotel workers strike.

The United States’ supply chains were about to witness an unimaginable disruption as dockworkers across California were about to strike before they reached a contract deal in June 2023. The negotiation lasted for over a year.

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