Workers at LA Grand Hotel, which houses homeless people, go on strike for better pay
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Dozens of L.A. Grand Hotel workers went on strike Wednesday and "occupied" a stretch of the sidewalk outside City Hall as they demanded increased staffing and better wages.
Los Angeles' unhoused population have called the downtown hotel their home under Mayor Karen Bass' Inside Safe program.
The homeless people who live in the interim housing facility receive many of the services that the hotel provided to its previous guests, including housekeeping and meals. Although hotel staff say they love their jobs, there are challenges.
"Working with this homeless is not easy for us so we need that help. The rooms are really messy. They're mentally ill. We're risking our lives. The rooms are like super dirty with you could imagine. Even though we're just there to clean their room. They don't want to come out. We have to make them come out. It's so aggressive," said Mirabelle Sfajardo, a housekeeper at the L.A. Grand Hotel Downtown.
City officials told ABC7 that if a member of Unite Here Local 11, the union representing the workers, doesn't feel safe or doesn't want to clean a room, they don't have to.
Sfajardo has worked as a housekeeper at the grand for 25 years. She says she's compassionate towards the homeless, but is asking owner of the hotel, the Chinese company Shen Zhen New World LLC, to increase staffing. On Wednesday, workers including Sfajardo walked off the job and protested outside City Hall.
"We directly want the city to intervene on staffing levels with the owner, mediate, because the work is overly burdensome. The workers are trying to do the job of 2-3 people. They want to be able to provide good, adequate service for these folks. But, it's impossible," said Maria Hernandez with Unite Here Local 11.
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In a statement, the mayor's office said "the grand houses hundreds of the most vulnerable angelenos and our office will continue to do all we can to save lives and ensure workers are safe and treated fairly."
Hotel workers at the grand have been on strike since June and in addition to addressing staffing issues, they're fighting for better wages and benefits.
