Worker Profiles
 For over 20 years, Isabel “Segunda” Brentner has worked at the LAX Hilton, keeping her focus on her family and her job. “My priorities [were] to help my family,” says Brentner, who, along with raising her own children, cared for both her father and grandmother when they were ill. More
 Enedina Alvarez, a 54-year-old single parent, says she must be both mother and father to her teenage children. Yet, with two jobs, she has barely enough money to house, feed and clothe them—and precious little time to spend with them. Although she receives health insurance through her job, she cannot afford to insure her children. Alvarez says, “I pray to God that my kids do not get sick because I cannot pay the medical bills.” More
Who Are Hotel Housekeepers?*
 Nearly all hotel housekeepers are women. The majority are women of color and immigrants. There are 1.3 million hotel workers in the U.S. and 280,000 in Canada, of whom approximately one quarter are housekeepers. Hotel Housekeeper Work Is Dangerous Work
Hotel workers have a 40% higher injury rate (5.9%) than workers in the service sector (4.2%). According to a recent study of company records covering thousands of employee injuries, hotel housekeepers face an injury rate of 10.4%, almost double the injury rate for non-housekeepers (5.6%). Hotel housekeeper injuries are debilitating. Back injuries, housemaids' knee (bursitis), and shoulder pain can lead to permanent disability. *UNITE HERE
|
|
A new white paper calls on the city of Los Angeles and industry leaders to invest in the Century Corridor and its workforce. A Plan for a New Century will benefit workers, communities, hotels and the entire city. More |
|
|
Group Is Hoping To Clean Up Century Blvd.
Community and Church Associations Want Century Boulevard Cleaned Up So It Can Be a Stop for Visitors
Daily Breeze - February 04, 2006
By Josh Grossberg
Hoping to raise wages of hotel workers near Los Angeles International Airport , a coalition of community and church groups announced an effort Friday to lure more tourists to the Century Boulevard corridor.
Details for the "Plan for a New Century" initiative were vague, but the group, which includes leaders from Westchester , Inglewood , Lennox and Hawthorne -- as well a local hotel-workers union -- hopes to persuade city officials to spend money to spruce up the corridor, which features nearly a dozen large hotels.
"As we drive off the (freeway) ramp, the first thing we see is sex shops and nudie shows and things that show us in the worst light," said the Rev. Altagracia Perez of the Holy Faith Episcopal Church in Inglewood . "We'd like to see that gateway into Los Angeles be a wonderful introduction to all that's good in our city."
Citing a report issued by the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, a worker advocacy group, members of the coalition said the corridor could be revitalized like other successful tourist stops around Los Angeles .
"Our goal is to look at the corridor as a gateway that's been ignored far too long," said Kurt Petersen, an organizer with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union. "(We need to do) what we've done in Hollywood and downtown. We've been able to turn them around."
But while organizers spoke about building a conference center, theaters and restaurants, their main focus was on improving the lots of the thousands of people who work in hotels along Century Boulevard. They plan to pursue the issue with a public event later in the week.
"Unlike any other tourism area, the workers live right around where they work," Petersen said. "These are the urban farm workers."
For Eric Davis, an assistant principal at Westchester High School , the issue is raising the standard for all locals.
"As an educator, I see an impact of poverty in our schools," he said. "These are contributing factors to high crime and poverty. We can improve conditions for adjacent communities and for the tourism industry as a whole."
Improving Century Boulevard is nothing new. Gateway to L.A. -- which has no connection with the New Century coalition -- represents airport-area businesses and works with the airport officials to cultivate the area.
"We are working on attracting much needed business and restaurants to the area," said Executive Director Laurie Hughes. "Yeah, there's room for beautification, but you have to find the money for it. This is the first that I have heard of this group's interest in improving business in this area."
Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., said that while it makes sense for organizers to target nonunion hotels, luring tourists will prove difficult.
"The hotels cater to business travelers," Kyser said. "... It's not a traditional tourist market."
|
|
|
Featured Video |
Spanish TV Coverage of LA Hotel Housekeepers' Oct 25 March & Rally 
|
A Living Wage |
Get the Facts
|
|
LAX Hilton Boycott
 Twenty-seven people were arrested in front of the Hilton LAX recently as 400 supporters watched. More
 LAANE deputy director Vivian Rothstein explains why political and community leaders in Los Angeles and around the region are boycotting the LAX Hilton hotel. Listen
|
|
Watch The Slide Video Show of the Oct. 25 Actions!
|
Study Exposes The Dangers of Hotel Housekeeping - Read |
|
|
