A group of hotel workers allege they were assaulted during a labor protest outside a Long Beach hotel.
The incident, according to the complainants, occurred at the beginning of August, while they were demonstrating in front of the Hotel Maya.
“It was impotence what I felt there. A tremendous impotence,” said María García, who works as a cook at the Hotel Maya.
Hundreds of hotel workers are on strike for the third day in Los Angeles.
The protesters were a short distance from the Hotel Maya and were pushed away by members of the site’s security.
Garcia says that the hotel installed some containment fences to block them while they protested for better wages. During the struggle, he alleges that some of his companions were injured.
“They attacked the compañeros,” García said. “My colleagues were beaten and the administration did nothing.”
In the images captured during the incident, it is seen how some people move one of the bars and then begin to push the others. Garcia moved but some protesters resisted.
“One of the maintenance managers helped push the fence With securities”, says Garcia. “When I looked at that I backed down because it was horrible.”
Unite Here Local 11 union claims the protesters were on a public road and had the right to protest there
Thousands of housekeepers, receptionists, and even cooks at some of the most renowned hotels in southern California are currently on strike for better wages.
“Here I have given my whole life to this place,” says García.
Garcia has worked as a cook at the Hotel Maya for more than two decades. However, she did not imagine that she would receive such treatment.
“For them to treat us that way, it’s not fair,” says García. “I think we deserve dignified treatment.”
They are calling for higher wages and better benefits in what the union calls the biggest strike in its history.
Telemundo 52 attempted to contact representatives of the Hotel Maya but they chose not to offer comment or interviews.
At the moment, thousands of Southern California hotel workersincluding Los Angeles and Orange counties are on strike to demand better wages and working conditions.
The incident in Long Beach is not the only one that hotel workers have faced during the strike. Another similar event occurred in front of the Fairmont Miramar Hotel.
