2008-11-20 02:52:01 -

Workers at the Long Beach Hilton have been subjected to a campaign of harassment and intimidation since they began organizing to form a union at the hotel this summer. Long Beach Hilton workers are organizing to improve working conditions at the 398 room hotel. In response, the hotel has initiated a series of interrogations, threats, and surveillance in a heavy-handed

effort. Today, UNITE HERE Local 11 filed Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charges, based on over twenty alleged incidents, with the National Labor Relations Board against the Long Beach Hilton which is owned by HEI Hotels and Resorts.
"I was interrogated by the General Manager and the HR Director for two hours just because I shared my experiences at the hotel," said Elizabeth Martinez, waitress at the Hilton Long Beach for 10 years. Martinez recently addressed audiences at Brown and Harvard Universities, speaking out against the mistreatment of her coworkers by hotel management.
The Long Beach Hilton, owned by HEI Hotels and Resorts, is being charged with the following:
- Increasing security patrols in employee areas
- Threats of lost wages, hours and employment from management.
- Repeated interrogation of workers by management about organizing activities including a 2-hour interrogation of one worker by the General Manager.
"I find it deeply disturbing to hear reports that the Hilton Long Beach has been using intimidation and harassment against workers who are organizing for better working conditions in the hospitality industry," said professor Norma Chinchilla of the Long Beach Coalition for Good Jobs & a Healthy Community. "If the Hilton is indeed violating the law in this manner, this diminishes not only their reputation and that of the hotel industry generally but that of our great city."


UNITE HERE Local 11

Dan Braun, 213-387-0780