UNITE HERE Local 11 Asks City Attorney to Investigate Whether Dream Hollywood is Fully Complying with LA’s Panic Button Law

As the Tommie and Thompson Hotels go up for auction this week, their sister property the Dream Hotel is the subject of a letter from the hospitality workers’ union UNITE HERE Local 11 asking the City Attorney of Los Angeles to investigate whether the hotel has fully complied with the Hotel Worker Protection law, which the City of Los Angeles passed in June of this year.

The law requires hotels to provide “panic buttons” to workers whose job requires them to work alone in guest rooms or restrooms, post a notice about the law on the back of doors, provide training, and have security on site to address threatening situations. The Union wants to ensure that the Dream Hotel complies fully with the law and that any violations are fully remedied.

The letter comes less than a week after former workers from the Thompson and the Dream spoke out at a press conference about their experiences working at the hotels. During the event, Alex Gedo, a former worker at Highlight Room–the nightclub on the rooftop of the Dream Hollywood–alleged that one of his bosses made inappropriate sexually suggestive comments to him.

“It was incredibly difficult to work in a kitchen where one of my bosses made sexually suggestive comments towards me. I felt extremely uncomfortable, and now I feel like I can’t stay silent,” said Mr. Gedo.

Last month, plus-sized models Alexa Jay and Ella Halikas alleged that they were both denied entry into the Highlight Room–the nightclub on the rooftop of the Dream Hollywood–based on their size. The Dream, Thompson, and Tommie Hotels were all developed by Relevant Group within the last five years in a scheme to “revitalize” the surrounding neighborhood just north of Sunset.

“I worked hard to pass these protections so that hospitality workers across Los Angeles would not have to be put in harm's way. We need to make sure this law is enforced, and that all hotels are held accountable,” said Gladys Avila, who works as a housekeeper at the W Hollywood.

UNITE HERE Local 11 is a labor union representing over 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona who work in hotels, restaurants, universities, convention centers, and airports