California Hotel Workers Strike Over Wages, Housing

Facts

• Thousands of southern Californian hotel workers went on strike on Sunday, citing the rising cost of housing in the region. The strikers belong to the UNITE HERE Local 11 labor union, which represents more than 32K hospitality workers across Southern California and Arizona.¹
• The union, which represents 15K housekeepers, dishwashers, cooks, waiters, bellhops, and front-desk agents at more than 40 hotels in the area, is calling for an immediate $5 bump to their current wages, a $3 an hour bump in subsequent years, and improved health and retirement benefits.²
• The Coordinated Bargaining Group (CBG) of hotels has so far offered an immediate $2.50 pay bump followed by a $6.25 increase over four years, along with continued provision of family healthcare and pension contributions.³
• The Westin Bonaventure, LA's largest hotel which employs more than 600 workers, has already agreed to increase pay and pension contributions. However, CBG attorneys have argued that striking union members have shown "no desire to engage in productive, good faith negotiations."¹
• Meanwhile, co-Pres. of UNITE HERE Local 11 Kurt Petersen has said workers have been "devastated first by the pandemic, and now by the greed of their bosses." Union members claim rising accommodation costs have forced them to move out of their cities of work and make hours-long commutes.⁴
• The strike — for which 96% of UNITE HERE members voted — came ahead of a busy tourism period over the July 4 holiday, which coincides with an Anime Expo in the area that can draw as many as 100K attendees. Anime Expo participants often stay at Marriott and Hilton hotels, who's employees are unionized.⁵

Sources: ¹NBC, ²Reuters, ³FOX News, ⁴Los Angeles Times, and ⁵Guardian.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by UNITE HERE Local 11. Hotel workers are the backbone of southern California's tourism industry — without them, corporate bosses wouldn't be able to provide any accommodation services to those visiting the region. Despite these employees' significance, more than half say they've had to relocate to different cities as their wages aren't keeping pace with housing costs. Unions are asking for the bare minimum at an extremely challenging time for the workforce.
• Right narrative, as provided by CATO Institute. California has one of the worst income inequality problems in the US, which won't be solved by periodic calls for wage bumps. The liberal state complains about wages while simultaneously imposing restrictions on residential construction. If California wants to lower housing costs, it should incentivize development in non-urban hubs so that supply can catch up to demand and workers don't have to commute for hours into the city.

Predictions