Hilton Glendale Staff and Managers OK a Five-Year Pact After Local Boycott That Began in 2006

By Jason Wells
Glendale News Press

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — Workers at the Hilton Glendale on Wednesday signed a groundbreaking, five-year union contract with hotel managers two years after calling for a community boycott to bring attention to their cause.

The contract includes provisions for safety conditions, wage increases, job security, pension plans and healthcare for employee family members, said Paulina Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Unite Here, the union that brokered the agreement.

“It’s a first-time contract, and for being that, it’s really, really good,” she said.

About 180 food service, housekeeping and front office employees will now be part of Unite Here Local 11 after engaging in several high-profile demonstrations since 2006 to garner support for their effort to unionize.

In that time, union officials staged several demonstrations outside the hotel, mainly on days when large social and business events were scheduled, including the mayor’s 2007 State of the City Address.

Unite Here orchestrated the planned arrests of 16 union sympathizers during a demonstration outside the hotel for that address, forcing many of the city’s most prominent officials and business leaders past picketers.

The union was also able establish a coalition of support among city businesses and officials for their effort, including the Glendale Fire Department and Occidental College. And in January, the City Council voted against holding its “Invest in Glendale” seminar event at the hotel amid fears that a high-profile picket line would send a negative message to potential investors.

Unite Here ended the boycott in February after new Hilton Glendale executives recognized the union as the representative for most of its employees. Hotel executives at the time acknowledged that the boycott had cut into business, but said they could not quantify the true financial impact.

Negotiations on the five-year agreement began in March.