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HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Long-term employees at Diplomat Beach Resort demonstrated on Friday, expressing concern that when the Hollywood landmark reopens, they could be replaced with new, cheaper workers.
The union that organizes the protests represents about 650 employees of the resort. Officially, they are still on their way, as the diplomat remains imprisoned.
There is no reopening date set for the massive 1,000-room hotel, but it is booked for June.
The union says that while other hotels have signed a pledge to bring their employees back to the penitentiary, the diplomat’s management did not.
They say both sides are talking.
“We are here for a very simple reason. We want to make sure that when the business returns to the Diplomat, these workers will return with the business, ”said Wendi Walsh, secretary / treasurer of Unite Here Local 355.
Martha Vasquez, a 17-year-old graduate housekeeper, noted the struggles of these employees who lost their jobs a year after the closure of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“We are here because we are waiting for our jobs,” she said. “We have no money. We have to pay the bills. We need money for food. “
Nathalie Prudhomme, a uniformed escort for almost 20 years, also wants her job back.
“I’m here today to ask the hotel to reopen, because everyone is suffering,” she said.
The diplomat has 209,000 square meters of convention space. Brookfield Properties, which owns the building but does not conduct day-to-day operations, said in a statement to Local 10 News that conventions and events are needed to reopen the property.
“Unfortunately, we do not know when we will be able to reopen the hotel,” the statement said. “Unlike smaller hotels, supported by tourists, group hotels, such as Diplomat, cannot operate without conventions and events that operate at full or almost full capacity. It is an unfortunate reality for the diplomatic community and its workforce, as well as for all the local restaurants and businesses that rely on conventions and the people they bring. ”
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A new management company, Ainbridge Hospitality, has been brought in to run day-to-day operations.
No one in Ainbridge returned calls or emails on Friday from Local 10 News looking for comments.
Vasquez and others are looking forward to receiving federal funding for the incentive, while still waiting for the chance to return to work.
“I thank the president. Thank you to the United States, “she said. “But we need our money and our jobs.”
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