Hotel Workers’ Strike Expanding in Southern California, Looming in Arizona

Hotel workers with Unite Here Local 11 picket outside the InterContinental hotel on the first day of a strike by union members at many major hotels in Southern California, in Los Angeles, on July 2, 2023. Mario Tama/Getty Images

The hotel workers’ strike that started in Los Angeles continued to expand in Southern California, with workers in Orange County walking off their jobs last week, demanding higher wages and benefits while seeking support for a union-backed ballot measure to house homeless people at hotels.

The strike by members of Unite Here Local 11 started with a three-day action over the July Fourth holiday weekend at 19 hotel properties in Los Angeles. So far, thousands of workers in 61 hotels across Los Angeles and Orange counties were involved in the walkout.