A group of laid off Hilton hotel workers staged a “Die-In” at the iconic Beverly Hilton Hotel on Wednesday to highlight the need for extended healthcare coverage amid the pandemic.
More than 3,000 employees from more than 20 Los Angeles-area hotels, including Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott — were laid off in March and have been without coverage since the beginning of October. They are represented by Unite Here Local 11.
Michael D’Angelo, vice president of labor relations for Hyatt, disputed the claim that his company’s workers are without coverage.
“Contrary to the assertion by Unite Here Local 11 in Los Angeles, Hyatt-managed hotels in the Los Angeles area have not eliminated health benefits for any of their colleagues,” D’Angelo said in a statement. “It is our understanding that the employer trustees of the health benefit funds voted to extend coverage through the end of October 2020.”
Several of the hotels have regularly contributed to health benefit funds that support their employees who are members of Unite Here Local 11, he said, and surplus funds can be used to ensure their coverage continues, despite being laid off as a result of the pandemic.
A Hilton representative said the company is doing everything possible to ensure that as many hotel workers as possible continue to receive benefits during the pandemic.
“These benefits have been provided by drawing on multi-employer health and welfare fund reserves that exist due to the financial contributions of hotel owners, Hilton, and other employers,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, the economic impact of the pandemic means these benefits cannot be sustained indefinitely.”
Representatives with Marriott could not be reached Wednesday.
A gap in coverage for those who return
Unite Here Co-President Kurt Petersen said some of the laid-off employees will eventually be brought back to work. But when that happens some will have have a gap before their health coverage kicks in again.
“This is a pandemic,” he said. “How can you have workers without health insurance? That just adds more fuel to the crisis. It will put them at risk and hotel guests at risk.”
The small gathering of workers who converged on the Beverly Hilton on Wednesday were armed with signs bearing such messages as, “Healthcare Extension Now” and “Beverly Hilton Workers Need Healthcare.”
Not enough to meet her mortgage
Ana Cortez worked as a housekeeper at the Beverly Hilton for 30 years before being laid off in March. When she was working she earned about $3,500 a month. She’s currently receiving just $1,800 a month in unemployment benefits — not enough to cover her monthly mortgage of $2,500.
“I feel very frustrated,” the 60-year-old San Fernando Valley resident said. “I’m having to run through my savings to make the mortgage and I’m going to a food bank for food. Not having healthcare in the middle of all this is stressing me out.”
Grim numbers
Data from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) show California’s hotel industry has taken a massive hit during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before the health crisis took hold, 285,122 people were working the the Golden State’s hotel industry, a chart shows. But 108,632 hotel jobs were lost through September and that number could near 200,000 if Congress fails to pass another COVID stimulus bill.
The chart additionally shows there were 5,791 hotels in California before the health crisis. Without congressional aid, 3,880 of them could end up in foreclosure or be shut down.
“It is well past time for our leaders in Washington to pass a stimulus bill to help these employees and businesses in the hardest-hit industries, including and especially, ours,” AHLA President and CEO Chip Rogers said in a statement. It is unacceptable for Congress to adjourn without passing a bill.”
A survey of registered voters conducted by Morning Consult and commissioned by the AHLA shows that 48% of voters say the COVID-19 pandemic is the most important issue for Congress to focus on, while 23% say the economy and jobs should be the priority. Just 5% percent named the Supreme Court vacancy as the top priority.
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Laid off hotel workers at Beverly Hilton stage ‘Die-In For Healthcare’ - LA Daily News
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