Boycott of Beverly Hills hotels gets boost from Hollywood writers

Hollywood writers, editors and producers have pledged to join a union-led boycott of two Los Angeles-area hotels mired in a labor dispute.

The boycott, which was launched last month by hospitality union Unite Here Local 11, targets Cameo Beverly Hills, which is a Hilton hotel, and the Beverly Hills Marriott. The union has been in negotiations with the company that operates the hotels, Remington Hospitality, to reach an agreement for workers at the Cameo, whose contract expired at the end of June.

The union is also pushing Remington to not interfere in a drive to unionize workers at the Beverly Hills Marriott and to voluntarily recognize the union if a majority of workers opt for it, said union spokesperson Maria Hernandez.

"Beverly Hills Marriott refused to agree to a fair process to allow workers to organize," Hernandez said.

Unite Here Local 11 announced the boycott shortly after filing a wage theft complaint with the California labor commissioner alleging the Cameo failed to pay housekeepers for work they performed before the start of their shift times. The complaint also said housekeepers were unable to take mandated 10-minute breaks because they were assigned to clean too many rooms.

The boycott gained steamed over the Labor Day weekend with the announcement that more than 30 screenwriters and other unionized Hollywood figures had pledged to support it. Grant Sloss, a screenwriter and producer on the hit show “Emily in Paris”; Michael Schur, co-executive producer of "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation"; and Brittani Nichols, writer and producer for “Abbott Elementary"; are among the members of the Writers Guild of America who have joined the hotel boycott.

WGA and Unite Here Local 11 have backed each other in labor disputes in the past. During last year's Hollywood writers strike, Unite Here Local 11 announced it would not cross any picket lines at hotels that frequently serve as locations for film and television productions.

Remington Hospitality said in a statement that it recognizes "team members as our greatest asset and take immense pride in fostering positive, open, and trusting relationships with them" and is "dedicated to treating every associate with dignity and respect."

"Our top priority is to create an exceptional employee experience that empowers, motivates, and inspires our team to deliver outstanding guest service. We deeply appreciate the daily contributions our employees make to both our hotel and the community we serve," the statement said.

Remington did not respond to questions about the union's allegations of wage theft.

The Cameo was formerly known as Mr. C Beverly Hills and recently rebranded. The hotel is owned by Braemar Hotels & Resorts.

The dispute at the Cameo and Beverly Hills Marriott follows a year of rolling strikes at dozens of hotels across Southern California that Unite Here used in a push for higher wages and other concessions as it negotiated new contracts for its members. In addition to the walkouts, the union organized boycotts of dozens of other hotels last summer that caused several conferences and events to be relocated, rescheduled or canceled.

The work stoppages and boycotts helped secure major wage increases for workers at 72 hotels, including immediate raises of $5 per hour for front desk clerks, dishwashers, housekeepers and other non-tipped workers.

The new boycott comes as labor tensions have heated up at other hotels across the country.

Over the Labor Day weekend, unionized front-desk workers, housekeepers and other employees at two dozen hotels in cities across the U.S. walked off the job after contract negotiations broke down. The strike involved roughly 3,000 workers at eight Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott properties in California, including in San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose. The workers are represented by local chapters of Unite Here.

Workers largely returned to their jobs Wednesday, although a strike is still underway at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, which employs about 700 union workers.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .