Call for boycott includes associated restaurant and nightclub venues

Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice joined UNITE HERE Local 11 today in calls for a boycott of the ritzy properties in the heart of Hollywood.

The boycott launched by UNITE HERE Local 11 asks the public only return to the Tommie and Thompson Hollywood Hotels and associated restaurant and nightclub venues when they have demonstrated a commitment to ensuring that all workers and guests--regardless of their race, sex, body size, sexual identity or personal background--feel treated with dignity and respect and until the hotel owners enter into meaningful dialogue with community stakeholders to address the social impact of these businesses on the Hollywood community. They ask no one to eat, sleep, drink, or celebrate in these venues while the boycott is in effect.

In a joint letter sent to Machine Investment Group, Taconic Capital, Miramar Capital, Ten Five Hospitality and potential buyers of the Tommie and Thompson hotels, CLUE and UNITE HERE Local 11 said:

“From the beginning of the development process, our community expressed concerns over the gentrifying impact of these hotels and expressed a deep desire for investment in housing. Instead, we have received hotels, nightclubs, and restaurants that entrench and glamorize the wealthy, and give them a place to perch at rooftop bars looking down on the struggle below. The hotels have not integrated themselves into our community or sought to be a part of the solution to our struggle here.”

“The Tommie and Thompson Hotels have become well-recognized establishments, celebrating exclusivity, wealth, privilege, and glamor. It is not lost on us that there is a deep disconnect between the hotels and the lived reality of their neighbors here in the heart of Hollywood,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11.“We hope that any future owners or buyers understand that we are looking for a good neighbor, willing to honor the hotels’ workforce and community, and who will be willing to fully address these concerns.”

Since the properties were put up for auction Tommie and Thompson have been embroiled in controversy as publicly aired disputes between business partners left workers in limbo. UNITE HERE Local 11 also sent a letter to the owners and operator of the Tommie and Thompson Hotels in Hollywood alleging that the 5% service fee charged by at least five related restaurants may violate LA’s service charge laws and threatening to take legal action on behalf of employees harmed by the practice. Last month, the Union also called on the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office to investigate these potential violations.

UNITE HERE Local 11 is a labor union representing over 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona who work in hotels, restaurants, universities, convention centers, and airports.

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