As hotels reopen, Local 11 expects any hotel buyer to collaborate with the union to keep workers and guests safe, and bargain a fair contract as soon as possible

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–On July 7, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board certified UNITE HERE Local 11 as the representative of the Mr. C Beverly Hills Hotel housekeeping workers. The Union has initiated the collective bargaining process.

The certification followed a protracted legal process in which hotel management challenged some workers’ eligibility to vote, resulting in a full tally not being completed until months after ballots were cast last November.

As recent protests by hotel workers have highlighted, many hotels in Los Angeles have failed to provide adequate protections as workers return to work, including gloves, masks, temperature checks, affordable health insurance, and sufficient staffing to sanitize rooms and common areas.

The Mr. C hotel is reportedly up for sale. Local 11 expects any buyer of the hotel to work proactively with the union to ensure all appropriate measures are in place to guarantee the health and safety of workers and guests.

According to records released this week by the federal government, the owner of the Mr. C hotel was approved on May 3 for a $1-2 million loan from the Paycheck Protection Program. Local 11 is seeking to ensure that any buyer of the property collaborates with the seller and the union to ensure that aid is directed to workers as intended by lawmakers.

“Mr. C workers have fought long and hard to win union recognition. We hope that any hotel buyer respects workers and their union instead of provoking a public labor dispute that workers will win,” said Local 11 Co-President Kurt Petersen.

UNITE HERE Local 11 is a labor union representing over 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona who work in hotels, restaurants, universities, convention centers and airports.

Contacts

Jordan Fein, Lead Research Analyst

UNITE HERE Local 11

(312) 576-5048