Taylor Swift Urged by Union to Postpone LA Shows

Taylor Swift is wrapping up her groundbreaking Eras Tour in the US with a series of six sold-out shows near Los Angeles, starting on Thursday night. However, there have been calls from union officials and politicians for her to postpone these shows in solidarity with striking hospitality workers. In an open letter entitled “Speak Now”, which is a nod to the title of her third album, these officials have urged Swift to delay the concerts. According to NBC News, this is to prevent hotels from taking advantage of the surge of fans coming to the area for the shows at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. Unite Here Local 11, the union representing over 30,000 hotel workers, has been engaging in strikes since July 2.

The union members, whose contracts expired last month at numerous hotels, are demanding improved wages and benefits. As the letter states, “In Los Angeles, hotels are doubling and tripling what they charge because you are coming. The hotels are making more money than ever, but many workers cannot afford to live close to where they work. Some of them even sleep in their cars between shifts. Others are at risk of losing their homes. Hotel workers are fighting for their lives. They are fighting for a living wage.” The AP reports that the letter was signed by Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, a Democrat who plans to run for governor in 2016, along with many other state and local politicians.

Kurt Petersen, the co-president of the union, stated in an interview with the Washington Post that it’s not difficult to find a hotel worker who commutes for two hours each way to work. He also mentioned that another wave of strikes will occur during Taylor Swift’s local concert dates. Despite not receiving a response from Swift yet, Petersen hopes that she will do the right thing. “I think she knows about it,” he said. “Hopefully she will do the right thing.” (It has been reported that Swift gave a large bonus to the tour’s truckers.)