L.A. City Council members, California assemblywoman arrested as hotel workers protest
Los Angeles City Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martínez and Nithya Raman and Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo were among scores of people arrested Thursday while participating in a protest organized by Unite Here Local 11, which represents hospitality workers in Southern California.
At the protest, held near Los Angeles International Airport, hundreds of demonstrators filled Century Boulevard, and nearly 200 of them were arrested, according to LAPD Capt. Kelly Muniz.
The protest was held after two months of contract negotiations between the union and local hotels, with workers seeking higher wages and healthcare benefits. On June 8, the hotel workers voted overwhelmingly to authorize their leaders to call a strike if their employers didn’t agree to the union’s proposed contract, which covers 15,000 workers in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, said workers could be on strike for the Fourth of July holiday weekend if an agreement is not reached by June 30.
“It’s an action no one takes lightly, getting arrested,” Petersen said. “But folks decided it was necessary to get the attention of the industry.”
The protest closed Century Boulevard in both directions between Sepulveda and Airport boulevards for hours before the roadway was reopened around 9 p.m., the Los Angeles Police Department tweeted.
“We were here to shed light on the issues working-class Angelenos face,” Soto-Martínez said in a statement, “like a single mother who works as a housekeeper needing to work 17 hours a day to afford housing.”
Hotel workers in Los Angeles and Orange counties voted to authorize a strike during the height of tourism season if talks don’t result in a new contract.
The council member is a former organizer for the union.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed the arrests of Martínez, Raman and Carrillo (D-Los Angeles) on suspicion of remaining at the demonstration after being told to disperse, a misdemeanor offense.
Soto-Martínez had been sitting in the middle of Century Boulevard with other protesters, union members and clergy for about an hour prior to his arrest, according to Soto-Martínez advisor Josh Androsky.
His hands were zip-tied by police and he was brought to a makeshift processing center a few blocks from the protest site, Androsky said.
About 20 protesters representing the local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America were also arrested, Androsky said.
Soto-Martínez has been arrested for civil disobedience multiple times before. This is Raman’s first arrest, according to her spokesperson Stella Stahl.
“It was honestly just a beautiful show of solidarity for the workers,” said Maria Hernandez, a spokesperson for Unite Here Local 11.
Petersen said future disruptions would continue if the hotels did not reach an agreement with the union.
Among the many local events planned during the Fourth of July weekend, the Los Angeles Exposition Center will host Anime Expo, the largest anime fan convention in the United States, with tens of thousands of attendees expected to stay in local hotels.
Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.
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