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VOL. 27,
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Hospitality workers picket at dozens of Southland hotels By City News Service
W
orkers at dozens of major Southland hotels remained on strike Monday, forming boisterous picket lines beginning in pre-dawn hours at many hotels in an effort to secure higher pay and improvements in health care and retirement benefits. "BREAKING: Southern California hotel workers are ON STRIKE! Thousands walked off the job at properties across DTLA & Santa Monica. Dozens more properties remain without a Union contract," Unite Here Local 11 tweeted at 6:01 a.m. Sunday, the first day of the strike. That tweet was followed by several more that showed workers picketing Sunday morning at sites including the InterContinental in downtown Los Angeles, JW Marriott LA Live, Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Hotel Figueroa, Le Meridien Delfina Santa Monica, Viceroy Santa Monica, Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, Sheraton Universal Hotel, DoubleTree Los Angeles and
Nearly 200 workers took to the streets to call for the wages required to afford housing in Los Angeles following an overwhelming strike authorization vote June on 8. | Photo courtesy of Unite Here Local 11
Laguna Cliffs in Dana Point. Picketing continued early Monday morning, with workers marching on sidewalks in front of hotels, chanting, waving signs and in some cases banging
drums as they walked -making it difficult for hotel guests to sleep. The union, which represents up to 15,000 workers employed at 65 major hotels in Los Angeles and Orange
counties, had announced Friday in an Instagram post that its members "could strike at any moment" during the Fourth of July weekend. The contract between
the hotels and Unite Here Local 11 expired at 12:01 a.m. Saturday although the union reached a deal Wednesday night with the largest of its employers, the Westin Bonaventure Hotel
& Suites in downtown Los Angeles. Contract agreements are unresolved with the remaining hotels. Hotel officials have told reporters their facilities will remain open with management and other nonunion staff filling in if the union strike materializes. On June 8, 96% of the union's members approved a strike authorization. Union officials said a recent survey of its members showed that 53% said they have moved in the past five years or will move in the near future because of soaring housing costs in the Los Angeles area. The workers include thousands of cooks, room attendants, dishwashers, servers, bellhops and front desk agents. Union officials said their members earn $20 to $25 an hour. Negotiators are asking for an immediate $5 an hour raise and an additional $3 See Hospitality workers Page 28
Fireworks, 3D drones light up LA sky; firefighters kept busy By Steven Herbert, City News Service
F
ireworks lit up the Southern California sky and fireworks not allowed in Los Angeles reportedly lit up trees and vehicles during Independence Day celebrations, authorities said Wednesday. The Los Angeles Fire Department traditionally sees an increase in calls for service on the Fourth of July, and Tuesday was no exception.
The LAFD's Nicholas Prange told City News Service the agency responded to nearly 200 more service calls than an average day. The calls included tree and vehicle fires, Prange said. Firefighters around Los Angeles County quickly put out several small brush fires. Four people escaped serious injury when they were struck by a vehicle while
standing in the street in the 2200 block of South La Brea Avenue, just north of the Santa Monica (10) Freeway, Prange said. One required transport to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries and the rest were treated at the scene. That was one day after a man was killed when he was struck by an SUV while lighting fireworks in Wilmington. The SUV driver fled the
scene. Fireworks followed the Los Angeles Dodgers-Pittsburgh Pirates game at Dodger Stadium, The Beach Boys concert at the Hollywood Bowl, the freestyle motocross show at the AV Fair & Event Center in Lancaster and the concert by the Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Brand tribute band The Rising at Starlight Bowl in Burbank.
The Gloria Molina Grand Park 4th of July Block Party included the first 3-D drone show in its 10-year history. The 12-minute show consisted of 500 remote-controlled drones flying above Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center forming larger-than-life representations. The show was orchestrated to a special playlist of hip-hop music curated by DJ
J Rocc of the DJ collective The Beat Junkies as a tribute to the genre's 50th anniversary. The playlist showcased the park's yearlong theme "Reflections," acknowledging Angelenos' inner strength and power. The Culver City Independence Day Fireworks Celebration at West Los Angeles College included food trucks, See Fireworks Page 27