Hotel Suspends Workers After They Complain

The Hilton Los Angeles Airport hotel indefinitely suspended dozens of housekeepers and waiters this week after they complained about the disciplining of a co-worker.

The suspensions at the Hilton, which at 1,234 rooms is the second-largest hotel in Los Angeles County, came in the midst of a heated campaign to raise wages and organize workers at 13 airport-area hotels by Unite Here, the hotel and restaurant workers’ union.

The suspended workers and other members of Unite Here picketed along Century Boulevard outside the hotel the last two days, and a union attorney filed a claim of unfair labor practices against the Hilton on Friday.

A hotel official put the number of suspended workers at 67; the union said 76.

The workers were suspended Thursday morning after they gathered in an employee cafeteria to protest the disciplining of a waiter the previous day.

The waiter, identified by union officials as Sergio Reyes, was suspended after a critical evaluation by one of Hilton’s “spotters,” according to a union official and two people familiar with the hotel’s version of events. Such spotters are anonymous inspectors hired by hotels to check on cleanliness, service and workers.

Union officials said Reyes had not been disciplined before and alleged that he was targeted in retaliation for supporting the union’s organizing effort.

The workers said they gathered to demand an explanation for Reyes’ suspension from Grant Coonley, the hotel’s general manager. Coonley did not meet with them. Instead, a supervisor told the workers their meeting was unauthorized and asked them to return to their jobs. Those who did not comply were suspended, according to workers and hotel officials.

Kathy Shepard, a spokeswoman for Hilton Hotels Corp., said that “the action appeared to be in response to a disciplinary action that was taken against one” employee. Citing the privacy of other employees, she declined to comment further.

Workers said they were told by hotel managers that they would receive calls Monday informing them whether and when they may return to work.

Wilfredo Matamoros, a 45-year-old waiter who was suspended, walked the picket line Friday in a red “Unite Here” T-shirt. He said he had worked at the hotel for 21 years and earned $6.75 an hour, plus tips. He added: “I’m loyal to this place.”