South Bay Coalition Urges Council to Improve Hotel Employee Working Conditions on Century Blvd

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

Why We Need A

"PLAN FOR A
NEW CENTURY"

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

South Bay Coalition Urges Council to Improve Hotel Employee Working Conditions on Century Blvd
City News Service - February 24, 2006

A South Bay coalition urged City Council members today to improve the working conditions of thousands of hotel employees on Century Boulevard near LAX by investing in new construction projects.

The city's largest concentration of hotels is on Century Boulevard near the airport, yet thousands of hotel employees are underpaid and do not have health insurance, members of the Coalition for a New Century told council members.

"When you have a mother and a father that are working two jobs each, you begin to wonder who's at home raising the children," said B.J. Moore, a hotel employee.

The area around LAX is overrun with strip clubs and failing businesses, which should be replaced with new developments, said Rabbi Jason Van Leeuwen.

"Our desire and our prayer is that we have a mini-conference center and not strip clubs," Van Leeuwen said.

City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who represents the area, has suggested building a conference center next to LAX, which would increase the demand for nearby hotels.

Though hotels on Century Boulevard already generate 35 percent of the city's bed tax, bringing in even more business would allow hotel managers to increase their employees' wages, Rosendahl said.

"If we as a city make that commitment to the hotels, we are therefore making that commitment to the workers," Rosendahl said.

Rosendahl introduced a motion last week directing city agencies to draft plans for a conference center and other developments along the Century Boulevard Corridor.