L.A. Hotel Workers Rework ‘Las Posadas’ amid Strike Threats

The following article by Mark Pattison for the Catholic Labor Network shows how some workers used the traditions they are familiar with in their fight for social justice. Such struggles have so much to say to us: workers have real material needs, they can be creative and united in fights to win justice and equity, God has a preference and a special relationship with the poor and the oppressed, and thisis salvific work that gives us a taste of God's Kingdom.

 

Thousands of workers at two dozen hotels in the Los Angeles area won contracts by the end of 2023 as UNITE HERE Local 11 has waged a campaign since April to win improved pay and benefits for union members – but thousands more are still waiting for an agreement.

Eréndira Salcedo, a housekeeper at the Hilton Pasadena and a UNITE HERE shop steward, is one of those workers. She’s one of 15,000 hotel workers represented by the local.

“The salary has been a main issue because we are not paid enough to live,” Salcedo, a native of Michoacan state in Mexico, said through an interpreter. “What we’ve also been fighting for is health insurance, a pension fund when we retire, and opportunities for growth.”

To prepare for a strike, UNITE HERE members at the Hilton Pasadena walked out four different times, for shorter durations. They also brought attention to their situation to the larger community by giving a new twist to “las posadas,” a nine-day devotion popular for centuries among Latin Americans that re-enacts Joseph and Mary’s quest to find an inn where the Christ Child could be born.

The hotel workers didn’t need nine evenings to make their point. Instead of selecting houses to play the role of inns, “we made different stations. The Hilton Pasadena was the first place, the Hyatt Place Pasadena and then at City Hall,” Salcedo said. She served as a reader at the Hilton.

“We were working on Colorado Avenue. It’s the main thoroughfare in Pasadena where we were doing the procession,” she added.

“It was an experience like no other. We thought it was relevant. We were looking for peace in our homes, and it was an experience that brought us and our coworkers together.”

Community support is tangible. “People come out, sometimes they bring us water, they bring us burritos. We appreciate people from outside the union who have shown their support,” Salcedo said.

While UNITE HERE urges would-be hotel guests to cancel their reservations if they find that their hotel has been struck – some hotels are using an app to recruit scabs – hotel chains are actually operating fewer of the hotels that bear their name, and make their money licensing their brand name. The Hilton Pasadena, for instance, is operated by a company called Aimbridge Hospitality.

Salcedo believes the workers’ actions will ultimately convince Aimbridge to come to terms. “Yes, of course. Claro que si. I have total faith that they’re getting close,” she said. “I hope this will push the company to finally sign a contract.

Workers at the Hilton Pasadena went on strike for the fifth time on New Year’s Eve, just in time to throw the hotel into chaos on the eve of the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day, one of college football’s premier events. Like the previous four walkouts, it’s a short-term strike, but nobody was saying how long they intended to stay out.

“A lot of the guests, once they go back in,” Salcedo said, “have been very supportive. I believe that we’re fighting for our rights, and that we’re entitled to those rights.”

My wish for you for the new year

I think that a friend and mentor of mine put it quite well the other day when he had the following to say about the coming of the new year and a self-assessment he was doing. He wrote:

I've always thought of new years eve as the most important time of year. It's a time to reflect and also look ahead. For me it's not about staying up and celebrating or making unrealistic resolutions but about having hope and a direction as I move on in life. It's personal. I know what I want to strive for and I probably won't get there completely but I will gain ground. I haven't forgotten where my bones are buried and my demons and I are on a first name basis.

I have a ton of regrets but at the same time a lot to be proud of. And I know there are people in this world who love me and that is enough. So I will continue to gain ground.
Happy new year! And peace to all!

I'm moved by this for several reasons. This comes from someone who I think approaches life with the right attitude and who I think is in a good place. I don't agree with everything that he says on other topics, but he's the kind of person who can make me think twice about something. He has a blue-collar wisdom that I understand and that I wish that I had more of. There is also a real humanism and realism in these words, and there is something instructive in that. Some people will go all out with platitudes, some people will be brief and formal, some people do the sugar-coating around this time of year. But this is a real self-assessment with some vulnerability to it and not everyone is strong enough to think this through and put that out there. These are also healing words. Someone can read this and see themselves in these words and step back and think that they aren't alone and that their life and their struggles and their hopes and the way that they're trying to give order to their life has some meaning after all.

So many people who I know are struggling in one way or another to give their lives order and meaning, and so few people who I know who are trying to do this have the support needed to make a good job out of it. It's hard to do. The person who wrote this has a strong bonded relationship with a woman who shares his values. They have a couple of pets. They're the kind of people others listen to and respect, and no one goes away from them without feeling their strength. They worked hard to get there. And here's the hint from above to find order and meaning in your daily life: you can't do it entirely on your own. We aren't wired for solitary lives and for not having to be accountable to others. This isn't about a party that never ends. Like my friend and mentor says, "And I know there are people in this world who love me and that is enough. So I will continue to gain ground."


My wish for all of us is that in 2023 we draw in closer, build solidarity and community, find the real love that we're made for, and gain lots of ground.

A simple thing to help the elderly, the disabled, and caregivers

Older people and disabled people have better friends than the Harris Teeter grocery store, but here is something that they're doing that deserves a good word---and shame on the stores that don't do this.

I got the inspiration for another post today on showing some respect for retail and service workers from a woman who runs the V. & V. Family Restaurant in Richlands, Virginia. Every day they put out food and produce a full menu that truly makes my mouth water, but my point is that a small business in a community can try to take care of workers and customers where the big stores can't or won't. Two times this week I have tried to get served at the bakery counter at a local supermarket that was recently bought by a large corporation. The workers are either locked into doing their assigned jobs and can't help me or are running around somewhere else, or perhaps there have been cutbacks. I just can't get served there. When we see someone doing something right, let's lift them up. Ask local stores to carry these carts.

I know that Kroger bought Harris Teeter awhile back, but the chain has kept some of its autonomy. I'm not supporting Kroger here, but with all of the bad publicity they're getting over their latest planned merger we might be able to get more community responsiveness out of them.

 

"Hi- I asked my local Harris Teeter grocery store in Virginia if they had a shopping cart that I could put my 91 year old mother in. She likes to go with me to get her groceries but can no longer walk all the isles. The options left me are to leave her in the car with it running or she has to stay at home. Neither were good options. Turns out they had a Caroline's Cart and it worked perfect! I feel like your company has created a resource that could be so wonderful for elderly seniors. Looking at the options in the lobby for carts, are the regular ones, mini versions for children and motorized which is wonderful for those who still have the skill set for driving. Nothing for elderly who have limited physical abilities at advanced ages but who still live and home and like to get out. By including seniors, caregivers can give seniors an option to get out of their recliners and back into the stores and living...it was a wonderful product! Thank you!!"
  

For Uvalde today. For too many before.

 

The Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston: "Our community is grounded in serenity, but not in passivity. It is a place where people can think, cooperate and take action..."

"Let us be clear: we are building a community. A place where people of all walks of life can come and be respected for who they are as people of value. We are constructing a haven for them, for ourselves, for any who will join us. Our community is grounded in serenity, but not in passivity. It is a place where people can think, cooperate and take action. We are an active community, intent on making a difference in this world. Our space is the vast expanse of the internet. Our agenda is peace and transformation. Our membership is no membership: only a welcoming hand to any who still believe in the power of love and hope."

--The Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston, Native American/Indigenous Ministries of the Episcopal Church

I voted---And some observations about our system

 

Marz - Said I AM---Give this clip a chance and learn something

 

Two Great Film Scenes From "Matewan," A Quote From Mother Jones, And Lots More

 

May (Mother) Jones was an Irish Catholic, a union organizer, a socialist, and a humanitarian. She was often inspired by her understanding of scripture, and her life was a work of faith.

Sid Hatfield, portrayed above in John Sayles movie "Matewan," was a pro-union sheriff in Matewan, West Virginia at a time when mine workers were fighting hard for their human rights and union representation. He was assassinated on August 1, 1921 by gun thugs who had the support of the coal operators and corrupt politicians.

Gene Autry's famous song about Mother Jones is here.

Del McCoury's recently released song about Sid Hatfield is here.      

For more information on Mother Jones, please go to the Mother Jones Museum.

For more information on the Matewan Massacre and the West Virginia Mine Wars, please go to the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum.

Please support these efforts with donations or by purchasing something from them.

 

Cecil Roberts, President of the United Mine Workers of America, talking about the Matewqan massacre in 2020.

You don't have to do it overnight, and you don't have to do it alone...

'Atheist Spirituality' (The Point) - Rev. Marlin Lavanhar

 

A Salem Memorial For Luke Kagey, Jowand Beck, Joe Posada III, and Rochelle Zamacona...

Our houseless neighbors who died on March 27. They ranged in age from 21 to 54. At least two others were injured, and a driver of the car who allegedly ran into the camp is in jail pending trial. Could all of this not have been avoided had the police not rousted houseless people recently and if we had housing and services for everyone on the streets and affordable housing and healthcare for all?

 

A possible model for church unity?

 

The Warrior Met Coal Strike Began On April 1, 2021. The Strike Is Still On. Please Help.

There is a great story on National Public Radio about the strike here.

The union's press conference marking the one-yea anniversary of the strike is here.

Make an electronic contribution here or send a check to 

UMWA STRIKE AID FUND

P.O. BOX 513

DUMFRIES, VA 22026

Photo from National Public Radio and Andi Rice, For the Gulf States Newsroom--Union aid comes to the strikers. Please help supply some of that needed aid today.

A Splendid Lenten Reflection By Grace Okerson

It was a joy for me to read this brief Lenten Devotional written by Grace Okerson and sent on by the Methodist Federation for Social Action.

2022 Lent Devotional: Week 5

By Grace Okerson

“Without community, there is no liberation...but community must not mean a shedding of our differences, nor the pathetic pretense that these differences do not exist.” – Audre Lorde

This quote by Audre Lorde always reminds me that liberation is intricately connected to the company we keep; we are all connected---for better or for worse.

So much of my personal and professional work over the past five years has been centered around being connected to those around me, especially those on the margins. I served as a missionary through the General Board of Global Ministries for two years in Detroit, MI with the NOAH Project tackling issues around homelessness. It was there that I developed a deep passion for social justice and mission. It was that work in Detroit and the glaring intersection between homelessness and mass incarceration that fed my passion and interest of prison abolition and led me to seminary which has informed my advocacy and work in ways I could not have imagined. Those that I worked alongside were different than I was, but it was those differences that fueled a beautiful relationship full of awe and wonder. It was those differences that made it clear that there was work to be done together if the liberation of all God’s people was to be achieved.

As Christians, we need to focus on liberation. Liberation and freedom are a part of God’s intention for humanity. When looking at creation and the imago Dei, we can see that God’s intention for humanity was mutuality, respect, and valuing of one another. God’s intention was for all humans to have dignity and worth. God created us to be bound up with one another. Adam and Eve were “bone of bone and flesh of flesh,” intricately connected to one another for better or for worse. Humanity was created to be free. Although we are radically free, there is responsibility in said freedom. The freedom we have is for something. It is for creation, for God, and for others. Freedom for is not power over something or someone. It is freedom that is oriented toward the flourishing of the earth, of one another, and for receiving God within our lives. To be made in the image of God is to participate in God’s freedom within what is given to us. The freedom for one another causes us to be dependent upon one another.

As a queer, Black woman, belonging is something that I have always craved. I have always strived to be “enough” and have tried to contort myself to fit into the boxes that society has made for me. Rather than try to find a box that can encompass my identity, I have found that I need to get rid of the boxes entirely. I was not created to fit into a box or conform to societal standards. I was fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God tasked to bring Christ’s kin-dom here on earth. I am different. And my difference matters, and makes me unique. I am a person who values community above all else and strives to create inclusive and affirming communities where individual flourishing can be realized. When thinking about freedom and liberation, I often love to ask others the following question: “Who would you be if you were allowed to flourish in all the desires of your heart?”

The answer to that question is at the heart of liberation. The answer to that question is the gateway to figuring out how we all can become radically free. Let’s get free together.

You make our collective work possible by your witness for justice every day in your church, community, and Annual Conference. MFSA does not receive any financial support from the United Methodist Church's giving channels. 100% of our budget is funded through your membership dues and your generosity in giving.

A Florida native, Grace Okerson is a first year Master of Divinity Student studying at Candler School of Theology @ Emory in Atlanta, Georgia. She is pursuing a concentration in Chaplaincy with the hope of going into hospital and/or hospice chaplaincy. She wants to journey with people through their grief and in their points of crisis, putting her own gifts, talents, and lived experience of grief to use.

Equipped with a Master of Arts in Public Ministry from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Grace’s passions surround dismantling white supremacy and prison abolition. Grace graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Science with minors in Diversity and Social Inequality, Women and Gender Studies, and Journalism Studies from the University of Central Florida.

From 2017-2019, Grace then served as Global Mission Fellow with the General Board of Global Ministries as the Lunch & Volunteer Coordinator at the NOAH Project, an agency tackling issues around homeless in downtown Detroit, MI.

Grace currently works with McCormick Theological Seminary’s Solidarity Building Initiative as the Special Projects Coordinator & Content Curator. Through a praxis of curious- learning, innovative-action, and active-reflection, Grace has imagined into existence life-giving solutions and collaborative partnerships towards justice-making and solidarity-building with those who have been marginalized by hyper incarceration.

Grace is a certified candidate for ordained ministry in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church and plans to continue her ministry as a deacon. When she is not working or in school, you can find Grace exploring the city and traveling the globe. Grace enjoys walks, reading, writing, and taking naps on the beach.