Several thousand hotel workers in Los Angeles walked off the job Monday morning over wages and staffing levels in the latest escalation of a heated labor dispute in the region.
The strikes are affecting a number of major hotels near Los Angeles International Airport, disrupting operations for domestic and international travelers during the peak of summer.
Wages in high-cost Southern California is a core issue between hotels and Unite Here Local 11, the union representing hospitality workers. Workers say they are commuting from hours away because they cannot afford to live where they work. They are seeking an immediate $5-an-hour raise, followed by additional increases.
“Personally, I’m on strike because I can’t pay the rent. Food is too expensive,” said Lilia Sotelo, a striking housekeeper at the Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel, who makes $19.80 an hour and pays $1,800 a month for a two-bedroom in Hawthorne. “Our quality of life has fallen since the pandemic.”
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Last week, thousands of hotel workers, also represented by Local 11, struck for three days at 21 hotels in downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica, disrupting the busy July Fourth holiday and a massive anime convention that drew tens of thousands.
The Hotel Association of Los Angeles did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday, but spokesman Peter Hillan previously told The Post that the union’s actions “certainly add to the growing black eye of L.A.’s reputation...
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