Hundreds of thousands of California workers celebrate the passage of the Hospitality Workers Right of Return law, a measure signed by Governor Gavin Newsom last 16 of April. The workers assure that this is a huge relief for them to continue working and contributing to the country’s economy.
The SB law 93 guarantees that approximately 700, 000 workers such as chambermaids, cooks, waiters and bartenders return to work once tourism returns.
Antonio Rodríguez has worked at the Terranea Resort hotel in Palos Verdes since 2009. The catering worker is proud to say that he was one of the employees who started right when the hotel opened.
However, in January 2020, Rodríguez and hundreds of employees received the news that their working hours would be reduced due to the covid – 19. By mid-March they had been rested and by the end of April they were told by letter that they were fired.
“They told us that we were no longer going to have medical coverage and that they were only going to pay for it until May, ”said the man with Mexican roots. “In May they sent us another letter that we no longer had a job and we no longer had health insurance.”
Rodríguez estimates that at least some 600 employees were affected. Only the maintenance staff continued to work.
“They fired us to hospitality, waiters, restaurants,” he indicated.
He said that this news was devastating for he, who is the head of the family in the home he shares with his wife and three minor daughters.
Shortly afterwards he applied for unemployment, but it was so low that he had to withdraw a significant amount from your retirement account 401 K.
“All that gives a lot of nerves and stress because we don’t know anything, if the girls ask for something you can’t deny them because they don’t know anything ”, indicated Rodríguez.
Health and your pocket affected
More than a year after the pandemic began, the 80 % of hotel workers remain unemployed, said Ada Briseño, co-president of the union UNITE HERE Local 11.
“The bread demia has devastated our industry, many of these workers have lost their families, ”said Briseño. “Employers didn’t mind firing their employees, leaving them without health insurance. They were irresponsible. ”
Minelda Hernández is experiencing this worrying situation, who has worked as a cook at Terranea Resort for eight years.
Hernández, who suffers from diabetes, said that at the beginning of They said they were going to give us health insurance for three months, but then they said no longer, ”said the employee. “Now I am collecting bottles to have money to buy my medicine.”
Hernández said that he tried to apply for Medical and help for food stamps but did not qualify for his salary, prior to the pandemic, it was for above the average poverty level. Now only her husband is the provider of the household she shares with her son of 18 years .
“I really need my job, my health insurance. I was always very punctual ”, assured Hernández. “It seems unfair to me that now they are returning employment to people who have less time than me; when I call to ask if I can go back they tell me that there is still no work. ”
Rodríguez was also affected after losing his health insurance. He said that he was infected with covid – 19 in early January and had to be hospitalized for three weeks. In those days one of his daughters also had to be hospitalized due to the pandemic and kidney failure.
“Now I’m just waiting to see how much the charges are going to get us,” said Rodríguez. “And no matter how hard I apply to other jobs, they don’t give me. That is why I am very happy that the law passed. ”
Hernández also celebrated the approval of the law since he knows that he will return to his job.
“ Because that is why we come from our countries, for a better future. We are not public charge. We like to work and we want to return ”, indicated the cook.
In response to these accusations, Terranea Resort said in a statement that the staff reductions were necessary due to the negative commercial impact caused by the global pandemic .
“We are working diligently to get our business back. Terranea has already been calling rested and laid-off employees since the reopening and will continue to do so, as business levels allow, “the statement states.
” While we have permanently lost some jobs, and some Roles may take longer to return than others, we sincerely hope that business levels improve to the point where we can offer laid off employees the opportunity to return to our family again. ”
UNITE HERE Local 11 indicated that during the worst health crisis in modern history, many employers of The hotel industry, such as Terranea Resort and Chateau Marmont, laid off workers who had made their hotels successful, without extending their medical care or making any binding commitment to withdraw them when the crisis subsides.
Briseño He added that when the Twin Towers terrorist attack occurred in New York in the 2001, thousands of workers were unemployed. Years later, in the 2008 when the recession occurred, thousands of other employees lost their jobs. And all this happened without the employers receiving any retaliation.
“Now we know that there has to be legislation to advocate for workers,” said Briseño.
Under this By law, hotel industry employers must first offer jobs to their employees who were laid off due to the pandemic within a five-day period. From that moment on, employees have an additional five days to accept or reject employment.
“Employers must now follow the law,” Briseño said. “They must have a record that this is going to happen and the workers can tell us.”
Since last year the union UNITE HERE Local 11 passed the first law of the hotel industry workers’ right to return to work in Los Angeles, Long Beach and other parts of the South of California.
In the country other cities such as Philadelphia, Baltimore, Oakland and Boston have approved similar legislation.
Briseño said that workers in this industry who need more information about the law and your rights you can send a text message to 877 – 877 with the word “Work”.