Los Angeles City Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martínez and Nithya Raman and Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo were arrested Thursday while participating in a protest organized by Unite Here Local 11, which represents hospitality workers in Southern California.
At the protest, held near Los Angeles International Airport, hundreds of demonstrators filled Century Boulevard, and a number were arrested after refusing to leave, according to Maria Hernandez, a spokesperson for Unite Here Local 11.
The protest closed Century Boulevard in both directions between Sepulveda and Airport boulevards for hours before the roadway was reopened around 9 p.m., the airport tweeted.
“We were here to shed light on the issues working-class Angelenos face,” Soto-Martínez said in a statement, “like a single mother who works as a housekeeper needing to work 17 hours a day to afford housing.”
The council member is a former organizer for the union.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed the arrests of Martínez, Raman and Carrillo on suspicion of remaining at the demonstration after being told to disperse, a misdemeanor offense.
Soto-Martínez had been sitting in the middle of Century Boulevard with other protesters, union members and clergy for about an hour prior to his arrest, according to Soto-Martínez advisor Josh Androsky.
His hands were zip-tied by police and he was brought to a makeshift processing center a few blocks from the protest site, Androsky said.
About 20 protesters representing the local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America were also arrested, Androsky said.
Soto-Martínez has been arrested for civil disobedience multiple times before. This is Raman’s first arrest, according to her spokesperson Stella Stahl.
“It was honestly just a beautiful show of solidarity for the workers,” said Hernandez.
The demonstration was the latest event in the ongoing labor dispute between hotel workers and their employers.
Southern California hotel workers voted overwhelmingly on June 8 to authorize their leaders to call a strike if their employers didn’t agree to major wage boosts in contract negotiations covering 15,000 workers in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.
