West Hollywood City Council Approves Protections For Hotel Workers
WEST HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA) – The West Hollywood City Council late Monday night approved an ordinance which will provide added protections and compensation to hotel workers.
By a 4-1 vote, the city council approved the ordinance which will allow for workers who have been laid off because of the pandemic to get their jobs back. The ordinance will also ensure that workers are paid extra when required to clean more than 3,500 square-feet during an 8-hour work day.
Further, it will also provide them the use of personal security devices.
Prior to the vote, dozens of workers and supporters gathered outside West Hollywood City Hall. The ordinance was supported by the UNITE HERE Local 11 union, which represents more than 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona.
"The minimum wage, as we know, is $15, and unfortunately, some of these places are paying that low, and tonight, we want to say to the industry you have to pay more and you need to make the workload fair," Unite Here Local 11 Co-President Kurt Petersen told CBSLA.
Business owners argue the ordinance is too costly.
"Hotels would have to operate at half of their capacity based on the labor shortages that they would have, which would be just devastating, considering what we've been through, and how hard we fought," Kimpton LA Peer Hotel general manager Nick Rimedio said.
Similar ordinances have already passed in Santa Monica and Long Beach.
