S A N TA M O N I C A
REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY smmirror.com
iNSiDe JUVeNileS ARReSTeD FOR SANTA MONiCA SCHOOl VANDAliSM AND BURGlARY
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January 7 – January 13, 2022 Volume CXXI, Issue 126
Jw Marriot Santa Monica to Pay Housekeepers $25 an Hour Following Agreement with labor Union Family health insurance and other benefits part of agreement ending lengthy dispute By Sam Catanzaro Ending a lengthy labor dispute, JW Marriott Le Merigot Santa Monica Hotel will pay its housekeepers $25 and provide free family health insurance after reaching an agreement with the local hospitality union. The agreement was announced on Wednesday by UNITE HERE Local 11, the labor union representing over 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona. According to the union, the agreement provides minimum wages of $25 an hour by the expiration of the contract in June 2023 and free family health insurance to employees working at the hotel, located at 1740 Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. “Hats off to Stockdale Capital for being a responsible employer and for embracing Santa Monica’s values of community and justice. Thank you to the heroes of this struggle: the courageous room attendants who never lost faith, fought every day against a nefarious
Columbia Sussex, and won an extraordinary union agreement,” said Kurt Petersen, CoPresident of the union. Stockdale Capital, a Los Angeles-based, vertically-integrated real estate investment firm, recently acquired the JW Marriott Santa Monica in May 2021. The company could not immediately be reached for comment for this article. Under the agreement, in addition to higher wages and family health insurance, room attendants at the hotel will be given a defined benefit pension plan along with job security protections. “This contract is life changing. This is the first time, after working for 10 years in the hotel industry, that I had a seat at the table to fight for the wages and benefits we deserved. None of these changes would have been possible without the union,” said Ismelda Reyes, laundry attendant who has worked for 10 years at the hotel. The labor dispute began in 2016 when housekeeping employees at the hotel won a union. Columbia Sussex, the then-owners and managers of the hotel, fought the unionization effort, however, and a lengthy labor battle began. “During this period, the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board found evidence to support more than 11 unfair labor
JW Marriot Santa Monica.
practice charges against Columbia Sussex alleging violations of federal labor law. To settle these claims, hotel management agreed to pay over $35,000 in bonuses the company withheld from workers in 2016, rescind seven disciplines issued to employees, and offer reinstatement to a worker who was fired,” Unite HERE Local 11 wrote in the press
Photo: Sam Catanzaro
release announcing the agreement. Neither Columbia Sussex nor JW Marriott responded to a request for comment for this article. With the agreement, there are now only three non-unionized, high-profile hotels in Santa Monica: the Shore, Casa Del Mar and Shutters on the Beach.
State Approves Demolition and Renovation of Original Hot Dog on a Stick in Santa Monica Renovation plans call for demolition of 1946 stand on Santa Monica Beach By DoLorES QUIntana
The original and beloved Hot Dog on a Stick location was founded in 1946 on Muscle Beach, right next to the Santa Monica Pier. It might finally be the time for that original building to be demolished as part of renovation plans. In 1946, Dave Barham opened the food stand just to the south of the Santa Monica Pier. Originally called Party Puffs, the bright red barnlike stand served ice cream cones and lemonade but that all changed when, using his mom’s cornbread recipe, Barham perfected the corndog. To highlight this new menu staple, he changed the name of his stand to Hot Dog on a Stick. Next, he
took his products on the road and started selling at county fairs using his Lincoln Continental as a generator. After that, Hot Dog on a Stick took to the malls. Now Hot Dog on a Stick has 70 stores in 7 states. The renovation project for the original Santa Monica stand has been in the works since 2009 and was postponed in 2014 when their parent company filed a bankruptcy declaration. The delays continued from 2015 to 2021 and now the California Coastal Commission voted unanimously to grant demolition and rebuilding permits for the business on December 15, 2021. The only approval that is left to secure is that of the City of Santa Monica. According to the Coastal Commission report, the new building’s dimensions are “ one-story 660 square feet, approximately 220 square feet larger than the existing building and similar in height, but with a mechanical roof screen extending to 16.5 feet.” The plan is to keep the same basic color
Renovation plans, see page 4
Hot Dog on a Stick in Santa Monica, seen in the 1980s.
Photo: hotdogonastick.com