Showing solidarity with other social classes is a prominent union strategy in the so-called “hot labor summer” sweeping California. It’s too soon to say if the inter-union activity will get employers to bargain.
Thousands in protest: This week alone more than 11,000 city workers plan to strike at several locations in Los Angeles, and hotel workers are expected to continue their “rolling strikes” that temporarily target various hotels.
Read on ... to see different perspectives from the protesters, as well as analysis of the strategy itself.
In Los Angeles it’s rare to see actors and housekeepers standing shoulder to shoulder on picket lines, or TV writers standing behind UPS drivers fighting for better pay.
Yet such signs of solidarity across social classes are prominent features of what some are calling a “hot labor summer” sweeping California. Strikes have ground Hollywood to a halt. At the same time thousands of workers who make the city run are putting pressure on employers to pay living wages in an increasingly unaffordable state.
“There’s staggering solidarity,” said Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, head of the California Labor Federation. “I think it’s in levels we haven’t seen before. If you look at the difference between what a fast food worker makes and a writer makes, it’s smaller than the difference between what either of them makes and their CEO.”
This week alone more than 11,000 city workers plan to strike at several locations in Los Angeles, and hotel workers are expected to continue their “rolling strikes” that temporarily target various hotels.
It’s hard to say if the inter-union unity will work, experts say. Some employer groups haven’t returned to the bargaining table after weeks or months of strikes.
UPS recently reached a tentative deal with the Teamsters, averting what would have been a historic national strike. And recently, the group representing Hollywood studios met with striking TV writers about bargaining.
Unity across classes
Across-class solidarity isn’t the only factor boosting labor actions, union leaders and experts say. The size of the unions involved and an overwhelmingly union-friendly state Legislature also are bolstering the efforts of tens of thousands of organized workers.
So far this year there have been 53 labor strikes in California involving 276,340 participants, according to Cornell University’s Labor Action Tracker. That doesn’t include strikes that began last year.
In 2022, there were 96 strikes with 92,527 participants, and in 2021 there were 52 strikes with 64,849 participants.
Participant numbers could be an overcount because they may include the overall membership of unions on strike, said Johnnie Kallas, the labor action tracker’s project director and a PhD candidate at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relation.
An example is The Screen Actors Guild — American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. It has 160,000 national members, but not all of them are striking in California.
Also fueling strike activity are such major union players as Unite Here Local 11, which represents 15,000 hospitality workers mostly in Southern California, and the Writers Guild of America, which represents 11,500 writers on strike.
On a recent sweltering July day outside the Warner Bros. Studio in Los Angeles, Maria Gonzalez, a housekeeper, led about 20 domestic workers with the National Domestic Workers Alliance in a march along a picket line.
Members of the Domestic Workers Alliance march with striking actors and writers at the Warner Brothers Studio in Burbank, on July 19, 2023.
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Though the domestic workers were dwarfed by the number of actors and other screen actors guild members surrounding them, their chants were loud and clear.
“When I say union, you say power!” they shouted. A screen actors guild picketer called back “Power!” throwing a fist in the air. Another actor waved and said “Hey!” in appreciation.
“I think we’re united because they, like us housekeepers, are working out of necessity, and we need to survive in this world,” Gonzalez said. “Nothing is free. The most important thing is to sustain our families. Unity makes us strong.”
California Democrats back strikes
Some California lawmakers are fanning the unions’ flames. Strikes have drawn politicians to join picket lines, including Sen. María Elena Durazo, a Los Angeles Democrat who championed Unite Here Local 11.
About The WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strikes
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) have been negotiating for new contracts with Hollywood's studios, collectively known as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
The WGA went on strike May 2. It is the first WGA strike in 15 years; the last work stoppage began in November 2007 and lasted 100 days.
SAG-AFTRA went on strike July 13. It marked the first time Hollywood performers and writers have simultaneously walked off the job since 1960.
“What you are doing today is saying to the hotel industry that enough is enough — Ya basta,” Durazo told hotel workers during a June protest ahead of planned strikes. “Workers deserve a decent life. We will keep fighting until workers get the living wages they deserve.”
Democratic Assemblymember Wendy Carillo of Los Angeles and City Council members Nithya Raman and Hugo Soto-Martinez were among 200 people arrested at the protest while showing solidarity with hotel workers.
More recently elected officials, including Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, supported Unite Here by publicly pressuring Taylor Swift to postpone her Eras tour shows in Los Angeles.
And in May, state Sen. Tom Umberg, a Democrat from Santa Ana, introduced a constitutional amendment to make unionizing a right for all California workers. The amendment needs two-thirds approval in both state houses before it can be placed on the November 2024 ballot.
“If the voters overwhelmingly approve it, and I think they will, it sends a message to employers and employees that Californians in general feel workers should have the right to organize,” he said.
If passed, it would enshrine in the state constitution the right to organize and negotiate with employers, including governmental employers, and it would invalidate laws and ordinances that violate those rights.
Umberg said protecting organizing rights is important because Congress and the Supreme Court recently have shown a willingness to roll back federal rights, including rights for women and LGBTQ communities.
Speaking up at summer strikes
Supported by politicians, many workers felt emboldened to speak up for themselves and each other. The same morning domestic workers joined actors at Warner Bros., striking writers joined UPS workers in a rally at their downtown Los Angeles warehouse.
The Teamsters were preparing to strike for better pay, particularly for part-time warehouse workers who make up the majority of their workforce. Writers, dressed in blue, stood behind Teamsters, who wore black union T-shirts or brown UPS uniforms.
Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien appealed to the groups’ sense of unity.
“I have a message for those white collar crime syndicates in Hollywood known as Amazon, Netflix and the rest of them: When you take one of us on, you take all of us on,” O’Brien said.
There is no illusion among workers today that corporate America cares about them or is going to provide for them.
— Kent Wong, director of the UCLA Labor Center
Oliver Sierra, who has worked for UPS for 10 years, said stress from working long hours during the pandemic hasn’t gone away. Customers as late as 10 p.m. stand in front of his delivery truck, demanding their packages, he said.
Sierra said his message to the writers supporting the Teamsters amid their own strike: “I just want to say thank you for supporting us.”
Christopher Keyser, president of the Writers Guild of America West, told the delivery drivers, actors and writers at the rally that all they want the same thing — to work.
“To find joy in that work, to have the resources to care for our children and for our parents, to retire with dignity,” he said. “If heaven does not distinguish between those who cash the checks and those who write them, why should people?”
A bargaining deal
The threat of a major national strike seemed to be enough for UPS to come to the bargaining table. On July 25, UPS and the Teamsters reached a tentative five-year agreement, avoiding what would have been the largest national strike in recent decades.
UPS CEO Carol Tomé said in a statement the agreement “continues to reward UPS’s full- and part-time employees with industry-leading pay and benefits” while allowing the company to stay flexible and competitive.
The Teamsters called the deal “overwhelmingly lucrative.” It features a $2.75 hourly raise this year for full- and part-time UPS employees and $7.50 per hour over the length of the contract. Part-time employees will earn at least $21 an hour.
The summer strike wave may cause ripple effects with non-unionized companies, said Nelson Lichtenstein, research professor directing UC Santa Barbara’s Center for the Study of Work, Labor, and Democracy.
“FedEx doesn’t have a union and Amazon doesn’t have a union, but nevertheless they’re going to have to meet the wage standard,” Lichtenstein said.
Meeting about a meeting
A long-awaited meeting between writers and the studios to prepare for negotiations recently went wrong. On Aug. 4, the writers group and the group representing studios met for the first time in months to discuss negotiation protocols and preview issues each side was to discuss.
The studio group asked that neither side make statements about negotiations to the press. According to a letter that the writers’ group sent to members, before anything was decided the studios leaked details about the meeting to the press. The writers union also said the studio group was unwilling to engage on key demands, such residual payments to writers.
The group representing the studios in the negotiations did not respond to a request for comment.
That this is happening amongst so many workers is a positive, but it’s difficult to determine whether this would have any impact on a given set of negotiations.
— William B. Gould IV, Stanford law professor emeritus and former chair of the National Labor Relations Board
William B. Gould IV, a Stanford law professor emeritus and former chair of the National Labor Relations Board, said the benefits of cross-class solidarity will show over time if it helps unions expand organizing efforts.
“That this is happening amongst so many workers is a positive, but it’s difficult to determine whether this would have any impact on a given set of negotiations,” he said. “It might in some circumstances and it might not in others.”
At least from the perspective of L.A. hotels, it so far hasn’t made much of a difference.
Keith Grossman, an attorney representing a coalition of hotels negotiating with the Unite Here union, said the rolling hotel workers’ strikes “are misguided and have changed nothing although they undoubtedly have and can in the future hurt our employees.”
Hotel picketers last weekend clashed with security staff at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows in Santa Monica. Videos on social media show Unite Here picketers being tackled to the ground.
Hotel workers have been on and off strike since early July. They say they have felt betrayed by their employers.
Feeling betrayed
Mirna Miloto, a phone operator for a Sheraton hotel in L.A., lives in Downey with a roommate and cuts hair in people’s living rooms to afford rent.
“I would like to live alone but I can’t pay rent by myself,” she said. “We don’t earn enough and they don’t want to renew our contract.”
Milioto said she is still hurt by the unpaid furloughs she and her colleagues endured during the pandemic, despite their hotels receiving federal financial aid. Hotels still haven’t rehired to full capacity, she said.
Unite Here Local 11 supporters participate in a sit-in protest at one of the main entrances to LAX airport on June 22, 2023.
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Workers already were struggling, but the pandemic shined the light on corporate greed, said Kent Wong, director of the UCLA Labor Center.
“You have people like Elon Musk and Bezos, who, as their workers are dying on the front lines, are spending billions for a joy ride in outer space,” Wong said. “There is no illusion among workers today that corporate America cares about them or is going to provide for them.”
Unite Here is seeking an immediate $5 raise and an additional $3 raise over the next three years. The Westin Bonaventure, Los Angeles’ largest hotel, has tentatively agreed to their terms, but other hotels are holding out.
Grossman said the hotels’ last offer was a $2 raise upon contract ratification, another $1 within 11 months and a total of $6.25 hourly over less than four years — plus up to $1.50 an hour to maintain affordable health care coverage.
The hotels have said Unite Here is not bargaining in good faith. The hotels’ group and the workers’ union have filed unfair labor practice charges against each other.
And hotel workers weren’t budging on their demands. In early August, for the fourth time this summer, employees of dozens of L.A. hotels walked off the job.
Elly Yu
reports on early childhood. From housing to health, she covers issues facing the youngest Angelenos and their families.
Published April 3, 2026 5:00 AM
Under a new law that went into effect this year, childcare providers are barred from asking about a child's or family member’s immigration status.
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Topline:
Under a new law that went into effect this year, childcare providers are barred from asking about a child's or family member’s immigration status.
What’s new: California Attorney General Rob Bonta provided guidance this week to childcare providers on new legal requirements to protect children and their families from immigration enforcement activities.
The backstory: Lawmakers passed AB 495 last year aimed at helping and protecting families in light of immigration enforcement, including allowing a broader definition of relatives to step in as a caregiver if a parent is detained.
The details: Under the new requirements, childcare centers have to regularly update a child’s emergency contact to make sure someone can be reached in the case of a parent being detained.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta provided guidance this week to childcare providers on new legal requirements to protect children and their families from immigration enforcement activities.
Under a new law that went into effect this year, childcare providers are not allowed to collect information about a child's or family member’s immigration status, unless necessary under state or federal law. Bonta’s office says there currently is no such requirement, though that could change with federal programs like Head Start.
“Childcare and preschool facilities should be safe and secure spaces so children can grow, learn and simply be children,” Bonta said in a statement.
His office says daycare centers also should not keep information about a formerly enrolled child longer than is required by state law.
The new law also requires facilities to inform the attorney general’s office and the state’s licensing agency if they get any requests for information from law enforcement related to immigration enforcement.
Facilities also must ask families to regularly update a child’s emergency contact information to make sure someone can be reached in case a parent is detained by federal immigration officials.
Warnings and advisories: Wind advisory, High Wind Advisory
What to expect: Partly cloudy skies, warmer weather and strong winds courtesy of the Santa Ana winds.
Read on ... for more details.
QUICK FACTS
Today’s weather: Partly cloudy
Beaches: Mid-70s
Mountains: Mid-60s to around 70 degrees
Inland: 75 to 81 degrees
Warnings and advisories: Wind advisory, High Wind Advisory
The Santa Ana winds are here to welcome us into the weekend, bringing warmer temperatures.
The winds will reach Point Mugu to the Santa Clarita Valley, down to Orange County and parts of the Inland Empire valleys and foothills east of the 5 Freeway.
Peak gusts are expected to reach 35 to 55 mph. The western San Gabriel Mountains, Highway 14 corridor, Santa Susana Mountains and the western Santa Monica Mountains are under a high wind warning until 6 p.m., when gusts could reach 65 mph.
As for temperatures, highs for L.A. County beaches will reach the upper 70s and up to the low 80s for inland areas.
Parts of Orange County and Coachella Valley will see temperatures in the mid- to upper 80s, with the warmest areas expected to reach 88 degrees.
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Jill Replogle
covers public corruption, debates over our voting system, culture war battles — and more.
Published April 3, 2026 5:00 AM
Green Cheek Beer Company in Costa Mesa is one of many local breweries that welcomes small humans and furry friends.
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Topline:
Getting together with friends at a bar or pub tends to get a lot harder when children and needy pets enter the mix. But Orange County has a solution — dog- and kid-friendly breweries.
Key ingredients: Spacious patios, a water bowl for the pooch, and food — either made onsite or, at the least, easy and quick to order and get delivered from somewhere else. Plus, of course, great beer from small, independent, local breweries.
Where to go: We have recommendations in Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, and Fountain Valley.
Getting together with friends at a bar or pub tends to get a lot harder when children and needy pets enter the mix. One solution — Breweries! Beer gardens! Brewpubs!
Because parents (of kids and pets) want to go out, too — and not necessarily to a fast food restaurant with an indoor playground and no beer.
Thankfully, the Orange County suburbs where I live have gotten on board with my family- and pet-friendly craft brewery dreams. The key ingredients for me are spacious patios, a water bowl for the pooch, and food — either made onsite or, at the least, easy and quick to order and get delivered from somewhere else. Board and pub games are an added bonus.
Plus, of course, great beer from small, independent, local breweries. On the beer front, I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of beer I encountered on my self-arranged tour of breweries in the Costa Mesa-Huntington Beach area.
Gone are the dark, dank days of nothing but IPA (IYKYK); now, you can find everything from pickle-tinged blondes, to mild sours, to rich and creamy stouts. If you’re not a big beer fan, every place I visited also had their own craft-made hard seltzers on the menu, as well as some non-alcoholic beverages.
Here are some of my favorites:
Riip (Huntington Beach)
Riip in Huntington Beach has two spots with full kitchens specializing in pizza and a wide variety of IPAs and other beer styles.
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Riip has been a family favorite since the company opened its first tasting room in Sunset Beach in 2015, with board games and tables the kids could write on. They have since expanded a lot, with a pizzeria next door and another location near Fountain Valley, which also serves excellent pizza, and has a small arcade to keep the kiddos busy.
One thing they do especially well: For serious IPA drinkers, Riip is your place. They usually have at least half a dozen different IPAs on tap, along with a decent variety of other beers, lighter and darker.
This place is great for … dinner after the kids’ [insert sport] game. Also for date night.
Locations: 17236 Pacific Coast Highway; 19171 Magnolia Street #12, Huntington Beach Hours: Monday through Thurs, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
At Flashpoint Brewing Company in Huntington Beach, you can check out the brewing vats and other machinery up close while enjoying the results.
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Flashpoint Brewing Co. (Huntington Beach)
I only recently discovered Flashpoint, which opened in 2020 on an industrial street near Huntington Beach Central Park. I actually love this aspect of craft brewery taprooms: they’re often located outside of trendy food and retail areas because they need to be able to actually brew beer there as well as serve it.
Flashpoint has a big patio lit with fairy lights. The tall doors of their brewing area, and an adjacent room with the taps and more tables are rolled up during opening hours, giving it a spacious, indoor-outdoor feel.
One thing they do especially well: All the beers I tried were highly drinkable. In other words, not crazy hoppy or overly heavy on flavors. The nectarine sour was especially good, refreshing with just the right amount of tartness.
This place is great for … An early evening toast, watching the clouds turn pink.
Location: 7302 Autopark Drive, Huntington Beach Hours: Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Friday, 1 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Saturday, 12:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Sunday, 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Green Cheek Beer Co. in Costa Mesa serves great beer and food, including shareable, snackable items like pad thai cauliflower.
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Green Cheek Beer Co. (Costa Mesa)
Green Cheek Beer Co. now has three locations in Orange County and one in Oceanside. Their Costa Mesa spot is conveniently located not far from the city’s Bark Park. So, naturally, after my pooch has fun, I deserve a cold one.
Green Cheek has a huge covered patio filled with long picnic tables. My dog, Ace, was very happy to find a bowl of water set out for their canine visitors, and lots of pets from the humans.
One thing they do especially well: Green Cheek makes great beer. But what I love most about their Costa Mesa spot is that you can soak up the alcohol with food, including smash burgers, tots, and pad thai cauliflower, from their good and reliably fast kitchen.
This place is great for … reading a book, or making a new friend! Their long picnic tables make it easy to opt in or out of the surrounding social scene.
Location: 2957 Randolph Avenue, Unit B, Costa Mesa Hours: Sunday through Wednesday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Bootlegger's Brewery outside the LAB Anti-Mall in Costa Mesa has a quiet patio for day drinking, and a lively trivia night scene.
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Bootlegger’s Brewery (Costa Mesa)
Within walking distance of Green Cheek is Bootlegger’s Brewery. Bootlegger’s started in Fullerton, and now also has tasting rooms in Costa Mesa and Redlands.
Their Costa Mesa spot is on the outskirts of the LAB Anti-Mall, a collection of small businesses and restaurants, at least one of which will deliver food to your table. A section of the parking lot has been turned into a nice outdoor patio with sun shades for daytime and heat lamps for chillier evening hours.
One thing they do especially well: Their Kosher Crusher pickle blonde ale. They debuted it last fall and it is seriously good — light, refreshing, and just a little bit zesty.
This place is great for … “working” on a Friday afternoon (I was not the only one there typing one-handed on my laptop with a beer in the other), and then inviting friends to join you for happy hour.
Location: 696 Randolph Avenue, Suite B, Costa Mesa Hours: Sunday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
There's an ambiance for everyone at Salty Bear Brewing Co. in Costa Mesa.
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Salty Bear Brewing Company
Salty Bear is part of The Camp, an uber-cool retail and restaurant complex also within walking distance of Green Cheek and Bootlegger’s (you can do a tasting tour!).
Salty Bear is worth a visit for the aesthetics alone. It has a great bar with midcentury tiling and dimpled red leather. The sprawling, leafy outdoor patio provides plenty of room for the kids to wander.
One thing they do especially well: Their Coastline Strawberry Blonde made me nostalgic for the fruity beers that got me hooked on craft beer in my 20s — but so much better.
This place is great for … Kickin’ it on the patio with friends, either listening to live music, or letting your kids practice performing on the teepee-themed outdoor stage.
Location: 2948 Randolph Avenue, C, Costa Mesa Hours: Monday through Wednesday, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday: 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday, noon to 11 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 8 p.m.
Aaron Schrank
has been on the ground, reporting on homelessness and other issues in L.A. for more than a decade.
Published April 2, 2026 4:23 PM
Supervisor Holly Mitchell, L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer, actor Danny Trejo and others gathered at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Wilmington.
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Topline:
A new private foundation called The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA launched Thursday, aiming to raise $2 million to shore up county health services this year. It comes after the Department of Public Health closed seven clinics following $50 million in funding cuts since early 2025.
Who's behind it: The foundation's board includes Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, the CEOs of Blue Shield of California Foundation and LA Care Health Plan, actors Sean Penn and Danny Trejo and more. Board member Saree Kayne of the R&S Kayne Foundation pledged $150,000 at the launch. Ferrer acknowledged it's "a hard day" when a public agency has to turn to private donors to fund basic services.
Deeper cuts ahead: The federal "Big Beautiful Bill" slashes Medi-Cal funding, and the department anticipates losing up to $300 million over the next three years. Federal dollars account for nearly half the public health budget.
Some government funding streams for L.A. County’s public health system are drying up, and officials are turning to private philanthropy to fill the gap.
A new privately funded foundation launched Thursday to strengthen public health services after $50 million in federal, state and local funding cuts to the county’s Department of Public Health since early last year.
“It is really a hard day for our community when we have to ask for private donations to fund a public good, but unfortunately, we've lost too much money to not take this important step,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.
In February, the county’s Public Health Department closed seven clinics, with six remaining open. About half of the patients seen in those clinics are uninsured, according to county officials. The department also cut hundreds of staff positions.
She said the fund will help the county maintain its basic public health infrastructure, including disease prevention, health promotion, environmental health, and emergency response efforts.
Other board members include several health insurance executives, as well as actors Sean Penn and Danny Trejo. Board member Saree Kayne of the R&S Kayne Foundation pledged $150,000 to the fund Thursday. Kayne said she hopes the donation encourages others to give.
The foundation aims to raise $2 million this year.
More cuts expected
L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell said it’s crucial to have an alternative funding stream to protect services for the county's most vulnerable residents.
“We are saving public health,” Mitchell said. “This fund represents a new approach, one that brings together government philanthropy in the private sector to invest in community-based solutions, protect vulnerable populations, and strengthen our public health infrastructure.”
Officials say more public health cuts are coming, through the federal budget law known as the "Big Beautiful Bill," which slashes funding for Medi-Cal.
The county Department of Public Health anticipates losing up to $300 million in revenue over the next three years because of the federal budget bill and other potential funding freezes. Federal funding accounts for almost 50% of the public health budget, according to county officials.
Mitchell also led an effort to put a half-percent county sales tax increase to fund public health on the June ballot.
If approved by voters, that proposal, known as Measure ER, is expected to raise about $1 billion a year for county safety net health services, including about $100 million for the public health department.
