Unite Here! Local 11 and the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows that would end a contentious six month strike that had captured regional and even national attention. Fairmont Miramar becomes the second hotel in Santa Monica to reach an agreement with the union after Le Merigot Santa Monica reached agreement in November.
“We’re excited and proud to have reached an agreement at our hotel,” says Fairmont Miramar worker Liliana Hernandez, who has been a housekeeper at the hotel for eleven years in a press statement.
“The last six months were challenging for us, but I am so grateful that the whole union stood behind me and my coworkers, and I’m proud of the leadership and solidarity. We hope other Santa Monica hotels follow the example of the Fairmont. Sí se puede.”
The Viceroy, Hampton Inn & Suites, Courtyard by Marriott hotels in Santa Monica have yet to reach agreement.
The contract is similar to ones Unite Here has reached with two dozen other Southern California hotels since the region-wide strikes began in July. It includes:
- Unprecedented wage increases that keep pace with the soaring cost of housing
- Affordable, excellent family healthcare
- Humane workloads and safe staffing
- Improved pension increases so that workers can retire with dignity
- Language improvements, including Equal Justice language that, among other things, will help to provide access to union jobs for formerly incarcerated individuals and unprecedented protections for immigrant workers.
“We applaud the Fairmont Miramar for signing this historic agreement,” said UNITE HERE Local 11 co-president, Kurt Petersen. “This victory once again demonstrates our members’ indomitable spirit and sends an unambiguous message to the remaining hotels that we will not stop fighting until we have won a living wage at all hotels.”
Despite the amicable agreement reached today, the relationship between Unite Here! and the hotel had been contentious. In August, a conflict between striking workers and hotel security made national headlines after the security were seen assaulting and striking workers outside the hotel boundaries.
In September, following complaints from residents near the Fairmont Miramar that the protests outside the Miramar were upsetting residents’ lifestyles, Councilmember (now Mayor) Phil Brock proposed curtailing the hours that protests could legally occur. After strong union turnout at the meeting, the motion was pulled from the agenda and has not been reintroduced.
