The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites reached a deal with 600 workers to raise wages, preventing a strike at the hotel, hospitality workers’ union Unite Here Local 11 announced.
A strike at other hotels in Los Angeles could still be called as early as this weekend, as Unite Here Local 11’s contracts expire today.
As part of the deal, the 600 workers at the Westin Bonaventure will receive wage increases intended to keep pace with the rising cost of living in Los Angeles, as well as affordable family healthcare, safe staffing that will return hours to pre-pandemic levels and pension contributions. Unite Here did not release exact contract terms, but called the wage increases “unprecedented.”
“With these extraordinary raises, I will no longer have to choose between paying my rent and putting food on the table for my family," Nancy Cerrato, who works in the hotel’s housekeeping department, said in the Unite Here announcement. "We have given our lives to this industry. We deserve respect and to be able to afford to live in the city where we work.”
The deal also updates the workers’ contract with equal justice language, among which is language certifying the right of formerly incarcerated individuals to access union jobs. It also bans the use of E-Verify, an online system employers use to confirm employees’ eligibility to work in the U.S.
“We applaud the Westin Bonaventure and [owner] Peter Zen for putting the workers and our city first,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, in the announcement. “LA is the world’s most important tourist destination, with the World Cup and Olympics coming back to back in 2026 and 2028. This agreement takes steps ensuring that workers who work in LA will be able to live in LA. Now the rest of the industry needs to step up. If they continue to be greedy and short-sighted, workers will strike.”
Earlier this month, Unite Here Local 11 workers voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. The local, which represents 15,000 workers across Southern California and Arizona, is seeking an immediate $5 increase to hourly wages across its workers’ hotels, affordable family healthcare, retirement pensions and safer workloads. Last week, union members held a high-profile demonstration, blocking traffic near Los Angeles International Airport for approximately three hours.
Other major hotels in the region — including the JW Marriott LA Live, The Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles, The Beverly Hilton, The Fairmont Miramar and The Hilton Anaheim — have not reached deals with workers.
