Employees at two Pasadena resorts went on strike Sunday, picketing for higher wages and greater staffing, as arrangements had been underway for the Rose Parade on New Yr’s Day.
Contributors of Unite Right here Native 11, which represents a spread of resort staff together with housekeepers and chefs, walked out at daybreak Sunday and can proceed to strike Monday on the Hilton Pasadena and the Hyatt Position Pasadena, stated union spokesperson Maria Teresa Kamel.
As of Sunday morning, dozens of folks had been picketing outdoor the 2 resorts, chanting “Si se puede!” — “Sure we will be able to” — and tents had been arrange for some protesters making plans to camp in a single day.
The union selected this weekend for the walkout as a result of “it’s most definitely the largest vacationer match in Pasadena,” she stated. Employees determined that “in the event that they’re anticipated to paintings on any such busy weekend, they must be compensated with an excellent contract.”
Unite Right here is asking for a direct $5-an-hour hike in wages and for a go back to “pre-pandemic staffing ranges,” that have now not rebounded in spite of a resurgence in resort trade, Kamel stated.
“We have now numerous staff doing the paintings of 2 or 3 folks for a similar wages as they had been getting earlier than,” she stated. The union has additionally raised considerations about pensions.
The Hilton Pasadena is amongst a number of resorts fascinated by talks with the union which can be operated by way of Aimbridge Hospitality, which stated in a commentary that it was once “proceeding conversations with the union and stay[s] concerned with attaining an settlement that places our buddies and their best possible pursuits on the middle.”
“Whilst those conversations are ongoing, the resort has processes in position to restrict disruptions and make sure constant provider and remarkable visitor stories always,” Aimbridge stated in its commentary.
Hyatt Position Pasadena is owned and operated by way of non-public fairness company Ensemble.
In a commentary, Joseph Co, basic supervisor at Hyatt Position Pasadena, stated the resort has been “actively engaged in talks with the union main as much as the expiration of the union contract” and continues to honor the expired contract and “its union workers because it seeks to succeed in a brand new settlement.”
A consultant for the Lodge Assn. of Los Angeles declined to remark.
Housekeeper Andrea Zepeda, who has labored greater than a 12 months and a part at Hyatt Position Pasadena, stated she had struggled to make ends meet on kind of $18 an hour. She cares for 2 of her grandchildren and will pay $1,800 in hire for a one-bedroom condominium, she stated.
“The cash doesn’t move a ways sufficient,” she stated in Spanish. “The entirety may be very dear — meals, expenses — and the prices are going up.” Zepeda additionally stated that skimpy staffing had piled on force at her task to scrub as many as 15 rooms earlier than the tip of her shift with out being introduced extra time.
Pasadena resorts replenish every 12 months for the Rose Parade, which started in 1890 as a promotional match by way of an area social membership and has developed right into a loved custom. Loads of campers flock the day earlier than to search out curbside seating to be had on a first-come, first-served foundation alongside the parade path. The ones operating on floats or collaborating within the parade search for breakfast spots within the wee hours of the morning on Jan. 1.
Even though staff don’t plan to wooden on the Rose Bowl itself, the proximity of the resorts way wooden strains most definitely will be noticeable to parade attendees, union officers stated. Dozens of different resorts have reached tentative agreements with Unite Right here Native 11 since their contracts expired in July, however those two have now not, Kamel stated.
“Our red meat isn’t with the Rose Bowl,” she stated. However “non-public fairness teams had been tougher to barter with than different resorts.”
Occasions team of workers creator Suhauna Hussain contributed to this record.
