Dear Friends:
On behalf of the Korean Resource Center I write to inform you of a desperate situation facing our community at the Wilshire Plaza Hotel. The hotel was recently bought by Leo Lee and the employees, members of UNITE HERE Local 11, have been trying to negotiate a contract with him since 2006. I recently met with several of these workers and was informed that many of them have had their wages reduced from $10-14 an hour to minimum wage. In addition, they have also had their health insurance benefits cut and vacation taken away. As a result at least one worker at this hotel has had to stop receiving cancer treatment, and others have been forced to resort to receiving food donations from local churches in order to feed their families.
Many of us have done business with this hotel in the past or have attended events there. For years this hotel has been a great place for the community to hold our childrens’ 1st birthday celebrations, weddings, and other events. Now it is time for Leo Lee to respect Wilshire Plaza workers who are part of our community.
The Korean Resource Center was established in 1983 to empower our community through social services, education, grassroots organizing, civic participation and advocacy. Every year we provide these services to at least 6,000 low income community members. As part of our mission, we see the Wilshire Plaza workers’ plight as a community issue and we ask that you support them. Please call Leo Lee at (213) 381-7411 let him know that you are concerned about the way he is treating his workers, and ask him to resolve the dispute.
Sincerely,
Dae J Yoon
Executive Director
Korean Resource Center