Faith leaders joined tourism workers and allies on December 18th at Los Angeles Council President Marqueece Hariss Dawson field office in South LA for some Christmas Caroling to encourage him to stand up to tourism industry scrooges this holiday season and WITHDRAW HIS MOTION to damage the Olympic Wage!
If passed, that motion would delay the full $30 hourly minimum wage for tourism workers until 2030, along with delays in access to urgently needed family health care, effectively taking money out of workers’ pockets with the lowest paid full-time workers without health coverage losing nearly $35,000 as a result of the proposed shift.
On December 19, over 150 Local 5 members walked out on a one-day strike at the Royal Kona Resort to fight for a fair contract that values their hard work and dedication. Royal Kona workers have been working without a contract since February 2025 and despite nearly a year of bargaining, their employer refuses to take workers and their concerns seriously. In addition to wage increases that keep up with Hawaii’s high cost of livings, workers at the Royal Kona are fighting for better workplace staffing & job security language and protections in the event of major emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Friday, December 5th, airport lounge workers at the George Bush International Airport in Houston ratified new 3-year union contracts! The new agreements cover more than 200 Flik & Eurest workers in the United Club & American Airline Admiral Club lounges. At ratification workers won an immediate wage increase of $4, raising the wage floor to $20/hour in year one, for many of the workers. They will receive an additional $2 by the end of the contract, bringing them to $22/hr.
“I feel incredibly happy and proud of the fair contract and wage increase we were able to win. Thanks to our union and the strength we showed together, this raise will allow us to spend more time with our families and afford our rent, bills, groceries, mortgage, car payments, medical insurance, and more.” – Klaudia Barrientos, Lounge Floor Attendant at George Bush International Airport & member of UNITE HERE Local 23
Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn workers achieved a strong first contract after a long, public organizing fight that included hundreds of workers and community members picketing outside the hotel.
The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn is the largest employer in the Sonoma Valley, the heart of California’s Wine Country. Non-tipped workers like housekeepers and dishwashers have received a $4 raise already and will get $6.25 in raises over the life of the contract (through 2028.) Tipped workers have received a $2 raise already and will get $3.13 over the life of the contract.
“I’m happy to be part of the union, for what we achieved,”said Martha Guerrero, a housekeeper at the Sonoma Mission Inn.
Last month, Sodexo workers at Novo Nordisk ratified their first contract with huge wins! The workers won 11 federal holidays, free short-term disability, low premiums with UNITE HERE Health Insurance, pension & education funds, and a $4.50 wage increase over the next 3 years!
“It feels good being a part of a Union, we have each other’s back and finally have a voice to be heard in our workplace.” -Yesenia Matos, Delivery.
Hotel workers at the Hilton Boston Back Bay overwhelmingly voted to ratify a new contract, securing the Local 26 hotel standard that raises wages and strengthens protections on the job. The agreement is a big win for the crew at the Hilton and another step forward in raising standards across Boston’s hospitality industry.
I.M.P. has committed to recognizing the union for the door and food & beverage workers!
These service workers are calling for more stable scheduling, better safety protections, and pay that reflects the real demands of the job. They point to the example set by Minneapolis’s First Avenue, where workers were able to organize freely and later won a strong first contract. Now D.C. workers are hoping for that same fair shot at forming their union.
They are thrilled by this VICTORY and proud of all work done to get to this point.
128 Aramark workers at Jacksonville University recently have become the first UNITE HERE members at a higher ed cafeteria in Florida! They are now members of Local 362. The organizing team was five out of six women, and a super majority of them were rank and file food service workers. Two were LOAs from the Aramark Lockheed Martin cafeteria in Orlando, which organized their own union with Local 362 last year and won a great union contract just a few months ago. Welcome to the union!
Workers at hotels owned by RLJ Lodging Trust on both coasts walk off the job in effort to win wages and benefits that enable them to afford to raise families in the cities where they work
CONTACT: Rachel Sulkes | [email protected] | 602-327-4084
LOS ANGELES: In the shadow of the Hollywood Bowl, hotel workers at the Hilton Garden Inn hotel in Hollywood started a picket line at 6 AM local time today.
The 160-room hotel, owned by RLJ Lodging Trust and operated by Aimbridge Hospitality, expected high occupancy this weekend for one of the last Hollywood Bowl concerts of the year.
In Philadelphia, workers at the Wyndham Historic District hotel—also owned by RLJ Lodging Trust and operated by Aimbridge—walked off the job earlier today, just ahead of the Thanksgiving travel season.
“Whether we strike is up to the employers and how willing they are to pay us fairly for the work we do,” said Maria Christina Velasquez, a shop steward with UNITE HERE Local 11 and laundry attendant at the Hilton Garden Inn Hollywood since 2019. “We’re ready for anything.”
“Hotel workers like me go on strike to win raises that keep up with the rising cost of living, pensions, high quality union healthcare, and safe workloads,” said Brent Allen, a restaurant server and member of UNITE HERE Local 274 at the Wyndham Historic District since 2023. “We’re going to welcome millions of visitors to Philly in 2026, but most of us can’t pay our basic bills. We deserve to be able to live dignified lives but that can only happen if the hotel owner and operator pay us what we deserve.”
RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE: RLJ) owns a portfolio of nearly 100 hotels across 23 states and the District of Columbia. The company just this week announced a year-over-year drop in both revenue and net income. According to campaign filings, between July and September of this year, RLJ Lodging Trust contributed $25,000 to the effort to defeat a $30 minimum wage for hospitality workers that the Los Angeles City Council passed in May.
Aimbridge hospitality operates hotels across the world under known brands like Hilton, Hyatt, and Windham. Aimbridge-operated properties were among the last to settle during the 2023–2024 Southern California Hotel Strike, the largest hotel strike in modern U.S. history.
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UNITE HERE Local 11 is more than 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona who work in hotels, restaurants, universities, convention centers, and airports.
UNITE HERE LOCAL 274 is 4,000 private-sector hotel and food service workers at stadiums, universities, cafeterias, and hotels throughout the Philadelphia region.
Both are affiliates of UNITE HERE, a labor union representing 300,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America.
Kaldi’s Coffee workers rallied outside the company headquarters in St. Louis, calling on owner Tricia Zimmer to recognize their union and respect their right to organize. A supermajority of workers at one location have already signed union cards with Local 74, and they’re pushing for recognition at all Kaldi’s stores across the city. Workers from eight locations joined the rally, alongside hundreds of community supporters, elected officials, and fellow workers showing solidarity.
