Langham Hotel Says It Has Rehired 153 Workers

In response to demands by former hotel workers to have the city enforce a right-to-recall ordinance that forces hotels to rehire former employees laid off due to coronavirus, a hotel spokesperson said the Langham Huntington Hotel has called more than 100 former employees back to work since July.

According to Susan Williger, director of communications at the hotel, 153 employees have been rehired since July.

“Since resuming limited operations in late July, The Langham Huntington, Pasadena has been delighted to recall 153 colleagues back to work to serve the guests who visit our historic luxury property,” Williger said in a prepared statement.

More than two-dozen former employees wrote a letter to Major League Baseball last week asking for help in getting back the jobs of former employees. The hotel is hosting athletes playing in the American League Division Series being played at Dodger Stadium and Petco Park Stadium in San Diego.

“The Langham Pasadena’s decision to terminate our employment during the pandemic moved the Pasadena City Council to pass a law in July that obligates hotels to offer employees their jobs when business returns,” the letter reads.

“For the safety of the players and the welfare of our families, we urge that you, Major League Baseball, demand that the Langham Pasadena offer us an opportunity to return to our jobs and reinstate our health insurance as a condition of housing the playoff teams,” reads the statement, which was signed by 35 former Langham employees.

The city’s local ordinance mandates hotel workers to be rehired after the economic crisis passes. Passed by the City Council in July, the law includes a right-to-recall element for displaced workers and a worker-retention clause to protect employees in the event of a change in control of a hotel’s management.

The workers are supported by unions in Major League Baseball and the National Football League.

“Major League players have long benefited from the excellent service provided by the experienced workers at the Langham Pasadena,” the workers said in a statement, “and are concerned by the reports that the hotel has not rehired many of these workers now that they are resuming operations and will once again be hosting a number of MLB teams.

“The workers at the Langham we have spoken with say they haven’t been told how many workers have been rehired by the hotel, so without the management providing documentation, it is hard to know,” said Francis Engler, the California political director with UNITE HERE Local 11.

“The very point of the recent protests is that the workers know people should be getting rehired, given that MLB appears to be buying some or all of the rooms in the hotel, but the whole process has been opaque to many of the workers you’ve seen at the protests. We are happy that thanks to the actions of brave workers, the MLBPA (Players Association), community supporters, (Pasadena) Councilmember (John) Kennedy, and the press, the Langham hotel is sharing some information about the hotel’s hiring.”

Engler said finding out how many workers have been rehired doesn’t really answer the questions the workers posed.

“Workers from the hotel say they have a schedule from inside the hotel that references “to go” positions, which might mean delivery of meals to rooms,” Engler said “The schedule also assigns restaurant workers to ‘banquets,’ and we don’t know for sure what that means, but we would think there might be banquet work if MLB is using the whole hotel. The workers ask why senior room service and banquet employees who traditionally performed delivery of meals to rooms and banquet work have not been recalled to do the things listed on the schedule. They would like there to be transparency about what work is available, whom the management is recalling to do the work, and what the plans are for the future. These kinds of transparency issues are that AB 3216 would help address.”

AB 3216 applies to owners of hotels, private clubs, event centers, airport hospitality operations, airport service operations, janitorial services, building maintenance services, and security services. It would also require successor employers in these industries to maintain a preferential hiring list of eligible employees identified by the employer.

In addition, the law would require employers to hire from that list for a period of six months after the change of control and retain eligible employees for a 90-day transition employment period, and offer continued employment.

The bill could be signed today, Sept. 30.

“The hotel’s decision to return these experienced hospitality professionals to our iconic Pasadena landmark hotel is emblematic of the meaningful relationship that The Langham has built with its colleagues over the years, and is consistent with the newly implemented Right to Recall Ordinance passed by the City of Pasadena. No new service staff has been hired – we are proud to have relied exclusively on the experience of our well-trained team in this new environment,” Williger wrote.

“Similar to many hotels,” she continued, “The Langham Huntington’s average occupancy is currently 16 percent and several parts of the hotel, including the majority of our dining outlets, our spa and fitness center, banqueting services, and in-room dining have not re-opened. Our hope is that the hospitality industry will see a return to a more robust business climate which will allow us to bring back even more colleagues in a safe and healthy manner.”