Striking SoCal hotel workers march in downtown LA, continue demand for better pay and benefits

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Workers at dozens of Southern California hotels spent their Fourth of July on picket lines as they remain on strike, pushing for higher wages and better health and retirement benefits.

Thousands of workers Tuesday morning marched through downtown Los Angeles in what was their third day on strike.

The contract between the hotels and Unite Here Local 11, which represents up to 15,000 workers employed at major hotels, expired at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Workers officially walked off the job on Sunday.

The workers - cooks, servers, bellman, room attendants, dishwashers and front desk agents - say their workload has increased with less available staff since the pandemic.

"At the end of the day, we are the ones who represent the hotel," said Kimberly Jimenez, a housekeeper at the InterContinental Hotel. "Without housekeepers, without chefs, there's really nothing in the hotel."

RELATED: Thousands of SoCal hotel workers remain on strike in effort to get higher pay, better benefits

Thousands of Southern California hotel workers remained on strike, forming picket lines at many of the businesses in an effort to secure higher pay and improvements in health care and retirement benefits.

Negotiators are asking for an immediate $5 an hour raise and an additional $3 an hour in subsequent years of the contract along with improvements in health care and retirement benefits.

In a statement, the hotel bargaining group released a statement that says they've offered an increase of $2.50 an hour in the first 12 months, and a $6.25 increase over four years.

Hotel officials have said their facilities will remain open with management and other non-union staff filling in during the work stoppage.

Hotel operations have continued during the busy holiday week. Alex Roundy was in town from Seattle for the Anime Expo in downtown L.A. He told Eyewitness News he's fine with the strike.

"It's a little inconvenient, but one of our buddies had said it better: it's just a little inconvenient for us for a few days, but it's probably more inconvenient for them for like a year," he said.

But he knows his opinion is just one.

Even though the contract negotiation affects roughly 60 hotels, they're not all walking out at the same time. So far during this Fourth of July week, the union has focused on downtown L.A. and Santa Monica hotels.

City News Service contributed to this report.