UNITE HERE Local 11 Alert for Ashford Inc., Ashford Hospitality Trust and Braemar Hotels & Resorts Investors

UNITE HERE Local 11 Alert for Ashford Inc., Ashford Hospitality Trust and Braemar Hotels & Resorts Investors

On September 3, 2024, UNITE HERE Local 11 sent a letter to Montgomery Bennett, the Founder, Chairman, & Chief Executive Officer of Ashford Inc.; Founder and Chairman of Braemar Hotels & Resorts; and Founder and Chairman of Ashford Hospitality Trust and Sloan Dean, the Chief Executive Officer of Remington Hospitality, regarding the ongoing labor disputes at the Cameo Beverly Hills and the Marriott Beverly Hills.

“As you may know, 70 hotels in Southern California and Arizona have now reached agreements with the hospitality workers union, UNITE HERE Local 11, to resolve labor disputes that have included strikes, picket lines, boycott activity and consistent press coverage.”

“However, labor disputes remain unresolved at the Cameo Beverly Hills and the Marriott Beverly Hills. At the Cameo, unionized employees are currently working without a union contract. These workers deserve the same rights and benefits that other hotels in the region have agreed to. Meanwhile, at the Marriott Beverly Hills, workers do not have a union, and the hotel has rejected a request that it agree to a fair process whereby workers can choose whether to unionize in an environment of mutual respect and without management interference.”

This letter comes after workers called a boycott of both hotels on August 23, 2024. Workers intend to continue to picket and distribute literature at both properties until the labor dispute at each hotel is resolved.

Additionally, at the Cameo, a housekeeping worker filed a complaint on August 2, 2024 with the California Labor Commissioner alleging that the company has failed to pay housekeeping workers for significant work they have performed “off the clock” and that workers have not been provided legally required rest breaks. The complaint alleged that housekeeping workers at Cameo have regularly arrived early for their shifts and performed work before punching in, including preparing their carts for the hard day of cleaning and changing into their uniforms. The complaint is pending investigation. Local 11 has since informed the Los Angeles Police Commission that it should monitor the complaint and consider its findings in evaluating whether to grant the Cameo a permit to operate, as required under the recently-enacted Responsible Hotels Ordinance. See L.A. Mun. Code §§ 103.402(a),(b).

In the letter, UNITE HERE Local 11 announced that it will soon begin to inform Ashford Inc., Ashford Hospitality Trust and Braemar Hospitality Trust investors, as well as other relevant stakeholders, about the ongoing disputes and attendant potential Environmental, Social and Governance risks that they may pose.

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

Jordan Fein
UNITE HERE Local 11
jfein@unitehere11.org

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