Harris staff opted to move hotels in Los Angeles to support union amid labor dispute

Vice President Harris’s staff switched hotels ahead of a planned visit to Los Angeles around the holiday weekend before a worker strike kicked off, in a show of support for the union leading the labor dispute.

The vice president’s office confirmed to The Hill the staff switched hotel reservations to a location that wasn't involved in the strike before the trip to southern California, where thousands of workers walked out of hotels to push for better wages and benefits.

“UNITE HERE applauds the decision of the Vice President to do the right thing and live up to the values that Democrats champion every day as the true party of the working class,” the union said in a statement.

Ahead of the walkout, Harris’s team planned to stay in a hotel with an expired contract in connection with the labor dispute, the union said.

“It’s not a surprise coming from the co-chair of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment. It’s moves like this by this administration’s leadership that led to our Union joining others and the AFL-CIO in endorsing Biden-Harris ahead of the 2024 election,” the union said.

Thousands of hotel workers in southern California walked out in a three-day strike that Unite Here Local 11 called "the first wave" of action, demanding a $5-per-hour wage increase and better health care, pensions and workloads.

It's not the first time recently administration officials have sided with striking unions. White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre last month also canceled a planned appearance on "The View" out of "respect for striking writers."

The Writers Guild of America, the union representing 11,500 writers between its east and west branches, is striking to push for better pay and to protest issues with the industry in an era focused on streaming content.