Hundreds of striking hotel workers take to the streets of downtown LA, blocking intersections
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Hundreds of striking hotel workers took to the streets of downtown Los Angeles on Friday morning, blocking several intersections while calling for an immediate pay raise.
Among them were "bell persons in the front that greet you at the front desk, all the way to the folks in the kitchen and of course the room attendants who are the heart of the hotel," said Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11.
Workers from more than a dozen hotels marched from the InterContinental Hotel to the JW Marriott at LA Live. They're asking for a $5-an-hour increase in pay.
"We deserve a living wage," said hotel worker Diana Rios Sanchez. "And right now it's really hard, everything's going expensive. Rent's really high, childcare is expensive, too. So, the money that we win isn't really enough for our expenses."
Said Petersen: "The tourism industry is booming. They have the money. So the question is, will they give it? And the workers are here to say, "We'll do whatever it takes -- including blocking intersections -- until we get what we need."
At one point during the morning, the protestors marched around one of the busiest intersections in downtown, at Figueroa Street and Olympic Boulevard, shutting it to vehicle traffic.
Striking Hollywood actors and writers with disabilities join the picket line
"If they could at least try to put on our shoes and see why we're fighting right now," Sanchez said. "It's hard for us -- it's hard for us making a headache for them, but we really need their support -- their patience, especially."
Friday's march comes amid a number of strikes with pending labor contracts, including the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and the Writers Guild of America, which is expected to participate in Monday's annual Labor Day parade in Wilmington, possibly making it one of the biggest such parades ever.
"That's what Labor Day is about," Petersen said. "It started many years ago, we're on strike and I think this is what Labor Day should look like every year."
Companies on the other side of the labor disputes continue to say they are committed to finding a resolution.
