Taylor Swift asked to postpone LA shows due to hotel strike

News

By Sarah Cassuto

3 August 2023 | 5:40

They want Taylor Swift to “Speak Now.”

California politicians pleaded with Swift to postpone the final leg of her sold-out Eras Tour in solidarity with striking hotel workers in Los Angeles — including the state’s lieutenant governor, who recently attended the singer’s concert.

Unite Here Local 11, a union representing over 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona, wrote a letter to Swift supporting hotel housekeepers in LA

“As a strong and fearless woman, you inspire us and so many of our constituents. We are writing in support of hotel housekeepers in Los Angeles. They make beds, clean bathrooms, and take care of every guest’s needs. But right now, workers say they struggling to make ends meet,” it said Unite here Local 11 letter.

Swift is scheduled to perform six nights at SoFi Stadium, beginning Thursday.

Fifty-three officials signed the letter, including California Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, state Sen. Dave Min and Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Janice Hahn.

Kounalakis, who took office with Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019, signed the petition days after attending Swift’s show at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco.

“Long story short, I went to the Eras Tour,” Kounalakis said as she posted a picture and a video in her submission to the exhibition.

Hotel workers in California began striking last month, “participating in a three-day walkout” asking for higher wages and increased benefits because their wages “cannot sustain them in the Los Angeles area,” according to NBC News.

The union is seeking a $5 an hour wage increase immediately, an additional $3 an hour increase each year for the next two years and additional health benefits.

Your shows make our region’s hotels a lot of money,” the union said. “In Los Angeles, hotels double and triple what they charge because you come. The hotels are making more money than ever, but many workers can’t afford to live close to where they work. Some of them even sleep in their cars between shifts .Others risk losing their homes.

“Hotel workers are fighting for their lives. They are fighting for a living wage. They have gone on strike. Now they are asking for your support.”

Forbes reported that the high demand for Era’s Tour tickets “has had a significant impact on the local economies of the cities she visits.”

Swift’s Cincinnati shows brought in more than $2.6 million for downtown hotels and $5.3 million for hotels in the surrounding area, as well as $39 million in hotel revenue in Chicago, according to Billboard.

Quick on Instagram Tuesday expressed her excitement for her final Eras Tours shows in the US, saying: “loved every second of these shows and can’t wait for LA. Playing six shows at Sofi Stadium sounds goooooo.”

She begins the international leg in Mexico on August 24.