UNITE HERE Local 11 Rallies with LA Councilmember Curren Price to Endorse Boycott of Tommie and Thompson Hotels

Los Angeles City Councilmember Curren Price rallied and announced his pledge of the boycott launched by UNITE HERE Local 11 and CLUE last week against the Tommie and Thompson Hotels in Hollywood.

While addressing the crowd outside the hotels on Cesar Chavez day, Los Angeles Councilmember Curren Price said, “I am so honored and proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with you as we move to ensure you are treated fairly and properly. I am committed to ensuring that all hospitality workers can earn a fair wage, and we will make sure that happens.”

As part of the boycott endorsement, Councilmember Price also talked about what can be done in the city to ensure that more hospitality workers across Los Angeles feel supported.

“Hollywood deserves businesses who will help move the community forward by bringing good stable jobs where workers and guests alike feel treated with dignity and respect,” said Jennifer Gutierrez, executive director of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice.

Last week in a joint letter sent to Machine Investment Group, Taconic Capital, Miramar Capital, Ten Five Hospitality and potential buyers of the Tommie and Thompson hotels, CLUE and UNITE HERE Local 11 announced a boycott of the properties until the hotels demonstrate a commitment to ensuring that all workers and guests–regardless of their race, sex, body size, sexual identity or personal background–feel treated with dignity and respect.

“It is important for me to feel like I can be myself at work, but Thompson made this impossible. My coworkers and I faced disrespectful comments from management about our sexual orientation, the language we spoke, and more,” said Earl Wintron, who worked at Bar Terrace as a server, busser, and runner at the Thompson Hotel.

Since the iconic properties were put up for auction, the Tommie and Thompson have been embroiled in controversy as publicly aired disputes between business partners left workers in limbo. UNITE HERE Local 11 also sent a letter to the owners and operator of the Tommie and Thompson Hotels in Hollywood alleging that the 5% service fee charged by at least five related restaurants may violate LA’s service charge laws and threatening to take legal action on behalf of employees harmed by the practice. Last month, the Union called on the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office to investigate these potential violations.

UNITE HERE Local 11 is a labor union representing over 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona who work in hotels, restaurants, universities, convention centers, and airports.

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