UNITE HERE Local 11 Asks Federal Agency to Ensure Chateau Marmont Complies with Loan Law
April 17 2021 - 1:58PM
Business Wire
The Hollywood hotel was approved for $1.95M in
PPP loans; its fired workers collected groceries
Former Chateau Marmont workers asked the U.S. Small Business
Administration (“SBA”) to ensure that Chateau Marmont comply with
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan requirements.
According to public records, the hotel was approved for a $1.95
million PPP loan on February 5, 2021, and as of April 13 the loan
had been disbursed but not paid in full or charged off, according
to the SBA. While the PPP program was intended to keep workers on
payroll, only a small fraction of laid-off Chateau workers have
been returned to their jobs.
“I gave 40 years of my life to Chateau Marmont and have been
struggling as a part time pizza delivery driver while my hotel is
being approved for a nearly $2 Million dollar loan. That is not
right,” said Carlos Barrera, Chateau Marmont garage attendant for
40 years.
The workers' demonstration contrasted the millions in aid for
which the hotel was approved with the aid the workers are forced to
seek because they have not been called back to work. The workers,
who are supported by UNITE HERE Local 11, assembled yesterday to
distribute boxes of groceries to each other and their families.
Many have struggled to make ends meet and provide for their
families during the pandemic.
Congress intended for PPP loans be used by small businesses to
keep workers on payroll, not to subsidize large hospitality
conglomerates. Yet large companies like Chateau Marmont have used a
loophole in the law to apply for these limited funds. Workers want
to ensure that any funds received by the Chateau are used as
Congress intended: to put workers back to work.
Last March, the Chateau Marmont fired more than 200 of its
workers, leaving workers who had dedicated decades of their lives
to the hotel without job security or company-provided healthcare
during the pandemic.
Since then, many of the hotel’s workers have spoken out about
their experiences working at “Hollywood’s Playground,” prompting
concern from community leaders and the call for a boycott. Former
worker Thomasina Gross filed a lawsuit in January alleging that she
experienced race discrimination and sexual harassment while working
at the hotel.
Jane Fonda and Alfonso Cuarón and other prominent actors have
pledged to boycott the Chateau Marmont including Edie Falco, Lena
Headey, Constance Zimmer, Nikki Bilderback, Thomas Sadoski, and
Alison Pill. Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello tweeted
his support of the workers late last week.
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.
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Maria Hernandez | 623-340-8047 | mhernandez@unitehere11.org