Hotel workers in the Southern California area are going on strike to demand increased healthcare benefits as well as greater wages. The UNITE HERE Local 11 union represents hotel workers in Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Negotiations between the union and Southern California hotels have been happening since April, and the contract recently expired without an agreement being reached. The union is hoping to receive a $5/hour wage increase, to match the increasing prices in the Southern California housing market. Workers state that hotels received billions of dollars from the federal government during the pandemic to allow hotels to increase profit, while wages for employees have remained unchanged.
See "Hotel workers in Los Angeles and Santa Monica decide to strike ", Julianne McShane, CNBC, July 3, 2023