Pasadena hotel workers hold strike hours before Rose Parade

Cooks, room attendants and other workers at the Hilton Pasadena and Hyatt Place Pasadena hotels walked off the job at dawn Sunday as Pasadena gets ready to host the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game on New Year's Day, union officials said.

Workers across Los Angeles hotels have been engaged in ongoing labor disputes with employers since July, in what the Unite Here Local 11 union calls the largest hotel worker strike in modern history.

The workers' primary goals include wage increases to keep pace with the soaring cost of housing in Los Angeles, quality and affordable health insurance and humane workloads, according to Unite Here Local 11, which staged walkouts at hotels across Southern California and Arizona over the summer.

A spokesperson for Aimbridge Hospitality, operator of the Hilton Pasadena, said, "We are continuing conversations with the union and remain focused on reaching an agreement that puts our associates and their best interests at the center."

Visitors to both events in Pasadena were being encouraged to avoid crossing the picket lines.

Unite Here says the strike comes after numerous tentative contract agreements were reached across Los Angeles and Orange County. Major Marriott and Hilton properties across Southern California, such the JW Marriott and Hilton Irvine, reached agreements with their workers in the past month.

The workers, also including dishwashers, servers, bellmen and front desk agents, planned to conduct a New Year's Eve parade of their own beginning at 6 p.m. at the Hilton Pasadena, according to the labor union.

Unite Here Local 11 represents more than 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona who are employed in hotels, restaurants, universities, convention centers and airports.