SoCal Hotel Workers Union Approves New ‘Life-Changing’ Contract With 34 Hotels

The union representing hotel workers across Southern California announced March 25 the signing of a new four-year contract with 34 hotels that gives workers a $10 per hour raise. Members of Unite Here Local 11, which represents more than 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona, started striking on July Fourth weekend last year, seeking higher wages and benefits to help workers keep up with the city’s high cost of living. Union leaders called the contract agreement “a powerful moment in history” during a rally to announce it Monday at the InterContinental hotel in downtown Los Angeles. A 50-page agreement was reached last week after workers at 34 hotels voted to ratify it March 21, union co-President Kurt Petersen told several hundred members at the rally....