Pasadena hotel workers go on strike amid contract negotiations and nearby Rose Bowl Parade

Camille Fine, USA TODAY
·1 min read
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Hotel workers with Unite Here Local 11 march through downtown L.A. calling for a fair contract from numerous major hotels in the region on October 25, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Hotel workers with Unite Here Local 11 march through downtown L.A. calling for a fair contract from numerous major hotels in the region on October 25, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Some California hotel workers welcomed the new year with a labor strike.

Workers at the Hilton Pasadena and the Hyatt Place Pasadena who belong to Unite Here Local 11— a union representing a range of hotel employees — walked out at dawn Sunday as preparations were underway for the Rose Bowl Parade.

In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, union spokesperson Maria Teresa Kamel said organizers chose this weekend for the walkout because “it’s probably the biggest tourist event in Pasadena.” Dozens of other hotels have reached tentative agreements with the union since their contracts expired earlier this year, but these two had not, Kamel told the outlet.

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Kamel said workers are calling for an immediate $5-an-hour hike in wages and for a return to “pre-pandemic staffing levels”, said that “if they’re expected to work on such a busy weekend, they should be compensated with a fair contract.” The union has also raised concerns about pensions.

“We have a lot of workers doing the work of two or three people for the same wages as they were getting before,” she said.

The union did not plan to picket the Parade itself and planned to continue to strike Monday at the two hotels, according to the Times.

Hotel workers with Unite Here Local 11 prepare to march, as one person holds a 'Homes Not Hotels' sign, through downtown L.A. calling for a fair contract from numerous major hotels in the region on October 25, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Hotel workers with Unite Here Local 11 prepare to march, as one person holds a 'Homes Not Hotels' sign, through downtown L.A. calling for a fair contract from numerous major hotels in the region on October 25, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

In a statement provided to USA TODAY Monday afternoon, the company that owns the Hilton Pasadena and several hotels involved in talks with the union, Aimbridge Hospitality, said conversations with the union are ongoing and focused and hotel operations had not been impacted.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hotel workers picket near Rose Bowl Parade amid union negotiations