California statewide and local officials signed on to a letter published by hospitality union Unite Here! Local 11 demanding Taylor Swift delay her sold out Los Angeles concerts this week due to the union’s ongoing strike.
In the letter, state and local officials ranging from Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis to Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn and State Assembly Majority Leader Isaac G. Bryan (D–Los Angeles) cited profits from returning tourism, highlighted the cost of living in Los Angeles and rising tourism revenue in their call for Swift to postpone her concert series.
So far, Swift and her representatives have not responded publicly.
“Hotel workers are fighting for their lives,” wrote the officials. “Speak Now! Stand with hotel workers and postpone your concerts.”
Unite Here! Local 11 represents over 32,000 members employed in hotels, restaurants, airports, sports arenas, and convention centers across Southern California and Arizona and is emerging as a major power in regional politics, reflected in the stature of their letter’s signatories.
In response to the ongoing strike, a coordinated bargaining group representing dozens of hotels across Los Angeles has offered an immediate $2-per-hour increase in pay, with an additional $3-per-hour to be added within 12 months, but negotiations remain ongoing.
A nationwide survey from QuestionPro found that Eras attendees are spending an average of $1,000 per event in tickets, food and beverage, hotels, and travel for each show, producing over $5 billion in additional revenue for businesses across the country.
In Santa Clara, which hosted a Eras concert attended by Kounalakis last week, hotels for the event were sold out for weeks. According to STR and Visit Philadelphia, 95% of rooms in hotels in Downtown Philadelphia were sold out for a Swift concert there at an average rate of $447 per night.
