UNITE HERE Local 11: Workers at Aimbridge-Operated SaMo Hotel Submit Letter to City Attorney, Calling for Investigation Into Hotels’ Compliance With Panic Button Law Following Allegations of Sexual Misconduct

Striking workers to speak at pension fund meeting with investments in Aimbridge

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dozens of workers at the Hampton Inn & Suites Santa Monica and Courtyard Santa Monica–hotels operated by Aimbridge Hospitality–walked out on strike this morning. The hotel workers' union also submitted a letter today to the Santa Monica City Attorney, alleging that the Hampton Inn Santa Monica may not be in compliance with the Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance, which was passed by the City of Santa Monica in 2019. In particular, the letter alleges that the hotel regularly does not provide panic buttons to housekeepers, and that the hotel may not have provided sufficient training or other notice of workers' rights required by the Ordinance. A primary purpose of this ordinance is to help protect workers from sexual assault in the workplace.

This comes after six women at two Aimbridge-operated hotels–the Hampton Inn & Suites Santa Monica and Sheraton Park Anaheim–have come forward within the past two months alleging they experienced harassment and verbal abuse at work. Five of the women have filed pending complaints with the California Civil Rights Department.

In response to the recent allegations, a group of more than forty prominent Californians, including Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, State Senator Maria Elena Durazo and co-founder of the United Farm Workers Dolores Huerta, have sent a letter to Aimbridge’s new CEO Craig Smith raising urgent concerns and urging the company to take specific actions to address and prevent sexual harassment.

Aimbridge’s Vice President of Human Resources-Labor Dave Williams, responded to the harassment allegations through an email, denying “that Aimbridge managers have been ineffective or have failed to ensure full respect for employee rights” and stating, “We are confident in our position, including the actions taken by Aimbridge in response to each of the underlying complaints.”

Last week, Aimbridge workers launched strikes and an “occupy” action near LAX, sending a clear message to Aimbridge that their response to sexual harassment allegations were insufficient, and noting that the allegations in some cases accuse managers of harassment. Moreover, it does not appear the company completed an investigation of the workers’ complaints prior to denying that any wrongdoing took place.

At the San Pedro Doubletree, which was operated by Aimbridge until earlier this year, workers filed a pending class action lawsuit several months ago against an Aimbridge subsidiary alleging violations of the panic button and other worker safety provisions of the Los Angeles Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance.

Workers across 35 hotels have successfully ratified their historic union contracts at other Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt properties across Southern California. Aimbridge Hospitality has failed to meet the new standard. The company operates unionized hotels in the region that include Aloft El Segundo, Courtyard Marriott Santa Monica, Doubletree Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, Fairfield Inn and Suites El Segundo, Hampton Inn & Suites Santa Monica, Hilton Pasadena, Holiday Inn LAX, Hyatt Regency LAX, and Sheraton Park Anaheim.

UNITE HERE Local 11 is a labor union representing more than 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona that work in hotels, restaurants, universities, convention centers and airports