The union representing thousands of Southland hospitality workers, currently on strike for better wages and benefits, has issued a request to Taylor Swift, urging her to postpone her upcoming series of concerts at SoFi Stadium.
In an open letter, Unite Here Local 11 states, “Your shows generate significant profits for our hotels. In Los Angeles, hotels are raising prices by double or even triple the usual rates because of your performances. Additionally, they impose additional fees, similar to Ticketmaster. However, we, the workers, do not see any of these benefits.
“The hotels are making more money than ever, yet we struggle to afford housing near our workplaces. Some of us even sleep in our cars between shifts, and many of us are at risk of losing our homes due to the insignificance of our paychecks.”
The union concludes the letter by urging Swift to stand in solidarity with them and postpone her concerts.
Taylor Swift is scheduled to perform five shows at SoFi Stadium from August 3-5 and August 8-9.
The union also shares testimonials from its members who are currently on strike, with one member acknowledging Swift’s resilience in difficult times. The union appeals to Swift’s empathy and admiration for her fans by asking her to honor their struggle and postpone her concerts until their demands for a living wage are met.
Taylor Swift has yet to respond publicly to the request.
On June 8, 96% of the union members voted in favor of a strike authorization. A recent survey conducted by the union revealed that 53% of its members have either moved in the past five years or plan to relocate soon due to skyrocketing housing costs in the Los Angeles area.
According to union officials, their members currently earn between $20 and $25 per hour. The negotiations seek an immediate $5 per hour increase and an additional $3 per hour raise in subsequent years, along with improved healthcare and retirement benefits.
The members of the union are currently engaged in the third round of picketing, targeting various hotels. The recent picket lines have mainly focused on hotels in Beverly Hills, including The Beverly Hilton and the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills.
Unite Here Local 11 initially commenced the strike on July 2, continuing their picketing throughout the Fourth of July holiday. The first wave of picketing targeted 21 hotels engaged in contract negotiations with the union.
The second wave of picketing began on July 10, concentrating on a total of 12 hotels, including those in the Westchester area near Los Angeles International Airport.
The workers represented by the union include cooks, room attendants, dishwashers, servers, bellmen, and front desk agents.
Representatives of the Coordinated Bargaining Group, representing local hotels, have accused the union of being inflexible in their demands.
The union “has not budged from its initial demand, which includes up to a 40% wage increase and over 28% increase in benefit costs, despite two months of negotiations. The union has shown no willingness to engage in productive, good-faith negotiations,” the representatives stated previously.
Keith Grossman, an attorney from Hirschfeld Kraemer, one of the two firms representing the hotel coalition, previously stated to the Los Angeles Times that employers have offered raises of $2.50 per hour in the first 12 months and $6.25 over four years. He added that housekeepers at unionized hotels in Beverly Hills and downtown Los Angeles, who currently earn $25 per hour, would receive a 10% wage increase in 2024 and make over $31 per hour by January 2027.
Grossman also expressed that the workers are on strike because the union is determined to push for it.
Unite Here Local 11 represents approximately 15,000 workers employed at around 60 major hotels in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Earlier this month, the union sent a letter to the American Political Science Association, requesting the cancellation of their planned 6,000-person annual meeting scheduled for August 31 to September 3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center due to the strike.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
