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\n \u201c<\/span>\u2018Anytime you\u2019re doing collective action when tons of people are involved, no matter how hard you try to stay disciplined, there\u2019s always going to be somebody who\u2019s going to go off message.\u2019\u201d<\/span>\n <\/p>\n
\n \u2014 David Meyer, professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine<\/span>
\n <\/small><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nA spokesperson for the Long Beach Police Department confirmed that police \u201cescorted the bride through the group.\u201d The spokesperson said police are investigating after responding to the hotel that day and finding four people with non-life-threatening injuries, one of whom was treated by fire-department personnel at the scene. <\/p>\n
A preliminary investigation \u201csuggests the victims were part of a demonstration when they were approached by an unknown male adult suspect who destroyed [a speaker] belonging to one of the victims \u2026 and proceeded to batter the victims,\u201d the spokesperson said, indicating that the victims were striking workers. The suspect fled the scene before officers arrived, according to police.<\/p>\n
Hotel Maya is a Doubletree by Hilton property. A Hilton
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\n spokesperson said the hotel is independently owned and operated. A manager for Hotel Maya referred MarketWatch to a spokesperson, who said the hotel would not be providing interviews or any information.<\/p>\nThere are no easy answers in these types of situations, said David Meyer, a professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine. <\/p>\n
\u201cProtests and strikes are polarizing,\u201d Meyer said in an interview. \u201cThe union\u2019s job is to disrupt but to get people talking about the reason, which is about fairness, dignity and wages. But there are going to be other sounds there.\u201d He mentioned the old labor song \u201cWhich Side Are You On?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people are going to be inconvenienced, and they\u2019re going to be angry,\u201d Meyer added.<\/p>\n
\u2018The people who are stuck in the middle\u2019<\/h2>\n
Hudson said she and many of her guests were supportive of unions and striking workers, and that she has a relative who was a union leader.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand their position,\u201d she said. \u201cBut there should also be a level of respect for the people who are stuck in the middle. \u2026 There was no need for them to walk around building calling me a b\u2014 because I had reservations there. I suffered, too, because of the level of staffing [for my wedding].\u201d<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in Southern California, German Martinez, an employee at Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica, said hotel security tackled him to the ground earlier this month \u2014 unprovoked \u2014 as he and his colleagues tried to form a picket line outside the hotel. Martinez, a dishwasher at the hotel, also said in an interview with MarketWatch that his legs and arms were bruised, and that his knee continues to hurt because of what happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels like the hotel management is trying to keep me and my coworkers from speaking up,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cIt\u2019s not fair. All I\u2019m trying to do is trying to stand up for myself and a better contract.\u201d<\/p>\n
A person who answered the phone Tuesday and identified himself as the hotel operator said the general manager of the Fairmont is \u201cnot answering questions at the moment\u201d and hung up on MarketWatch. A spokesperson for Accor
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\n the multinational France-based hospitality company whose brands include Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, did not immediately return a request for comment. <\/p>\nSee:<\/strong> Striking workers need unemployment pay \u2014 and fast, this lawmaker says<\/p>\nMartinez said his hourly wage after 34 years at the hotel is $25.49 an hour, which is at the high end of what the union says is the average hourly pay for hotel workers in the area. The union, which has said hospitality workers are having a tough time keeping up with the rising cost of housing in the region, is asking the hotels for an immediate raise of $5 an hour for its members, plus $3 an hour each of the next three years. The hotels are offering raises of $2.50 an hour for the first 12 months, then $6.25 an hour over four years.<\/p>\n
At another hotel in Orange County in Southern California, Emilse Pineda, a striking housekeeper at Laguna Cliffs Marriott Dana Point, said through the union that she was punched in the head by a hotel guest while she was picketing. Pineda said hotel security did nothing about it after she reported the incident.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe take these allegations very seriously and are investigating these claims as part of our commitment to operating welcoming and inclusive hospitality destinations,\u201d said a spokesperson for Aimbridge Hospitality, which runs the Marriott
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\n hotel in Dana Point.\u00a0<\/p>\nEarlier this month, the union also filed an unfair-labor-practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against the hotels over the violence it says striking workers have experienced.<\/p>\n
At the time, a spokesperson for the California Hotel & Lodging Association accused union members of \u201cextremely aggressive and unlawful protest tactics\u201d that include \u201cblaring sirens and alarms at odd hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Managing public perceptions of movements is difficult, Meyer said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnytime you\u2019re doing collective action when tons of people are involved, no matter how hard you try to stay disciplined, there\u2019s always going to be somebody who\u2019s going to go off message,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
From the archives (July 2023):<\/strong> Actors, writers, hotel housekeepers and grad-student workers are all striking for the same reason<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n