Day One attendees of the American Film Market (AFM) were met with loud shouts and thunderous drums as a group of approximately 100 striking hotel workers, members of the Unite Here Local 11 hospitality workers union, staged a vocal protest.
The picketing took place outside the Le Meridien Delfina Santa Monica on Wednesday, the new location for AFM. The workers demonstrated against what they consider unfair working conditions for their members, many of whom are employed at the Le Meridien Delfina.
The mostly Latino protesters, chanting slogans, banging drums, and tooting vuvuzelas, called for a boycott of the hotel during the AFM. Unite Here Local 11 has been involved in a labor dispute with the Le Meridien Delfina and several other Santa Monica hotels since the July 4th weekend.
The strike action coincided with AFM, leading to noisy protests outside several hotels where AFM attendees are staying, including the Viceroy Santa Monica, the Fairmont Miramar Hotel, the Courtyard Marriott Santa Monica, and the Hampton Inn Santa Monica.
The union is demanding a “living wage” for its members to help them cope with rising inflation and soaring housing costs in Los Angeles. The high cost of living in the city is making it challenging for many workers to afford housing, with the average rent in Los Angeles ranging from $2,500 to $3,000 a month. The union has also accused hotels, including the Le Meridien Delfina, of employing unhoused refugees as strikebreakers during the ongoing strikes.
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According to Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, many of their members are just one paycheck away from homelessness. The union claims to have evidence that subcontracting agencies have been recruiting unhoused workers, with some brought in from other states. This practice has raised concerns about worker exploitation and unfair wages. Sebastian, a refugee from Venezuela, revealed that he worked at the Delfina and other jobs through temp agencies. He explained that he was paid in cash and personal checks with no contracts and no knowledge of his rights as a worker. Sebastian is now applying for asylum status for himself and his family.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has initiated an investigation into these allegations.
The strike and the subsequent demonstrations coincide with Unite Here’s pursuit of a ballot initiative, the Responsible Hotel Ordinance, scheduled for California elections in March 2024. This initiative aims to address Los Angeles’s affordable housing crisis and would require new hotel development projects to include equivalent affordable housing for demolished or converted housing. It would also establish a program requiring hotels to offer temporary lodging for unhoused individuals and families in their vacant rooms, with costs covered by the city.
The hotel owners’ lobbying group, Angelenos Protecting Hospitality, has criticized the ballot initiative, claiming it will turn hotels into homeless shelters and damage the city’s tourism industry.
IFTA noted that the decision to move the AFM to the Le Meridien Delfina was made in March, well before the strike action began.
For all of Reel 360 News’ coverage of the American Film Market, click here.
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