[LAX] Scrubbing the Century Corridor

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

[LAX] Scrubbing the Century Corridor
Los Angeles City Beat - April 27, 2006
By Krista Walton

The strip of Century Boulevard near LAX is lined with parking lots, airport hotels, and a spattering of sex shops, an uninviting strip that most people simply drive through on their way from the airport to more sparkly L.A. communities. With the Tuesday release of a new report, a group calling itself the Century Corridor Commission is offering some concrete recommendations on to change the area’s image.

“[The Century Corridor] is the first thing that people arriving by air see,” says Ruth Galanter, former city council member and chairwoman of the blue ribbon panel that released the report. “It’s the front door of Los Angeles, and it should be an inviting front door.”

Along with Galanter, other members of the panel, assembled by the Century Corridor Commission, include Sierra Club chairwoman Susana Reyes, UCLA Public Health professor Ninez Ponce, LACC Trustee Warren Furutani, and Reverend Cecil Murray. The panel hosted a hearing in March in which community members, including Century Boulevard employees, teachers, and residents, were invited to discuss their personal experiences and concerns about the corridor.

The March hearing proved to be an opportunity for disparate members of the community to recognize the shared interests between them. “When people discover common ground, it’s a cause for celebration, and if they can use that common ground to move forward, it’s cause for immense celebration,” notes Galanter.

The report details the major issues facing the corridor and asks both public and private enterprises to help revitalize Century Boulevard. Along with pollution and alarmingly high poverty levels, the hotel industry came in for much criticism. While the hotels along the Century Corridor make up the largest concentration of hotel rooms in L.A. County and have the highest occupancy rates, many hotel employees expressed concern about the lack of job stability, inadequate (or no) benefits, and low wages.

Patricia Delgado, an employee at the LAX Westin, spoke at Tuesday’s press conference. “I like my job and I’m proud of the work I do,” said Delgado during an emotional moment. “All I’m asking is better wages, which means a better future for my kids.” Representatives from hotels along the corridor were invited to but did not attend the March hearing.

The press conference was also attended by Councilman Bill Rosendahl and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, both of whom enthusiastically supported the commission’s efforts. Villaraigosa says the effort marked “the beginning of taking Century Boulevard and making it what it needs to be.”