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Workers at Chateau Marmont “overwhelmingly ratified” their first-ever union contract with the Hollywood hotspot on Wednesday night, in what UNITE HERE Local 11 is calling “a historic breakthrough.”
The new contract, taking effect immediately, comes following years of unrest at the Chateau, which laid off nearly 250 staffers near the start of the Covid pandemic and has for years been the subject of complaints, lawsuits and boycotts by workers alleging sexual misconduct and racial discrimination, among other misdeeds.
Offerings under the contract will include an immediate 25% wage increase for returning workers not receiving tips, free family health insurance for workers on the clock for 60 or more hours per month, free legal services for immigration, consumer and tenant issues, a union pension fund, and the recognition of Juneteenth as a paid holiday, to name a few.
The venue owned by André Balazs first agreed to recognize the union in August, with negotiations between it and UNITE HERE Local 11 transpiring throughout the last few months.
“I am so proud that my coworkers and I will be returning to work at the Chateau Marmont while providing a secure and dignified life for our families,” said Walter Almendarez, a worker leader of UNITE HERE Local 11 who served as a Bellperson at Chateau Marmont for 26 years.
“The Chateau Marmont workers are the heroes of the pandemic,” added UNITE HERE Local 11 Co-President Kurt Petersen. “After losing their jobs along with other hotel workers during the pandemic, they not only helped win California’s historic right to return to work law but now they will return to their jobs with an extraordinary union contract. We commend the Chateau Marmont for negotiating in good faith and look forward to opportunities to build a more just Los Angeles together.”
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