Orange County supervisor Vicente Sarmiento joined picketers at the Sheraton Park in Anaheim, Calif. Photo Credit: Unite Here Local 11, via Twitter
Thousands of hotel workers in Southern California are staging a second wave of strikes, with most of the currently affected properties near Los Angeles International Airport. Workers walked off the job yesterday at eight hotels near LAX:
This morning, workers from the Hyatt Regency Los Angeles International Airport joined the walkout.
Workers at three hotels in Orange County, Calif., also joined the second wave of strikes this morning:
Unite Here Local 11, which represents the region's bellhops, front desk agents, room attendants, cooks, servers and dishwashers, had previously warned that additional walkouts could come at any time. That was following a three-day strike across 60 hotels in the region that began on the Sunday of Independence Day weekend.
Union members initially voted June 8 to authorize the strike, demanding increased wages to help keep pace with the soaring housing costs in Southern California.
Workers at dozens more hotels in the area currently remain without a contract, according to a Unite Here Local 11 spokesperson, and could strike at any moment. Workers are currently picketing at the Beverly Hilton but have not yet joined the strike.