In September 2006, UNITE HERE Local 11 organized what was likely the largest act of civil disobedience in Los Angeles History. Union members, religious leaders, elected officials, and community allies joined in a large march to protest low wages at corporate hotels along Century Blvd. outside of Los Angeles International Airport. The protest demonstrated the union’s ability to build a broad coalition in support of worker and immigrant right at a time when the union was negotiating with hotel employers over a new contract. Building on the themes of the spring 2006 immigrant rights marches, Century Blvd. marchers also adopted a slogan inspired by the Black freedom struggle: “I am a Human Being,” echoing the famous message used by Memphis sanitation workers during their 1968 strike, “I am a Man.” Over 300 demonstrators were arrested by Los Angeles Police and bused to Van Nuys for processing. Produced by UNITE-HERE Local 11, this film combines TV news footage, interviews, and street scenes to document the union’s mass action on Century Blvd.
Union members & supporters begin the September 2006 Century Blvd. actionUNITE HERE Local 11 action at LAX, 2006Maria Elena Durazo is one of hundreds risking arrest on Century Blvd., September 2006Union supporters march eastward on Century Blvd. Their signs link the civil rights movement of the 1960s to the immigrant rights movement of the 1990s and 2000s.Union members & allies stage a mass civil disobedience action on Century Boulevard in 2006.
Mathews, Joe. “A Plan for Very Civil Disobedience; Police and Union Will Follow a Script, Which Even Specifies Who Will Be Arrested, in a March near LAX to Organize Hotel Workers.” Los Angeles Times; Los Angeles, Calif., September 28, 2006, sec. Main News; Part A; Metro Desk. http://search.proquest.com/latimes/docview/422186033/abstract/3B85F37323DB4A3CPQ/13.
