:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/03-12-2021/t_7c5a4a2f46f04ab2a9c59bed24236f14_name_image.jpg "Diplomatic workers protest to keep their jobs, but the future of the resort is unknown")
HOLLYWOOD, Florida. – Longtime Diplomat Beach Resort officials were demonstrating on Friday, expressing concern that when the Hollywood landmark reopens, they may be replaced by cheaper new workers.
The union organizing the protests represents about 650 resort employees. They are still officially on leave, as the Diplomat remains closed.
There is no set reopening date for the massive 1,000-room hotel, but it is accepting reservations for June.
The union says that while other hotels have signed a pledge to bring their licensed employees back, Diplomat management has not.
They say that both sides are talking.
“We are here for a very simple reason. We want to make sure that when the business returns to Diplomat, these workers will return with the business, ”said Wendi Walsh, secretary / treasurer for the Unite Here Local 355 union.
Martha Vasquez, a diplomatic housekeeper for 17 years, observed the struggles of these employees who were unemployed for a year after the COVID-19 pandemic stopped.
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“We are here because we look forward to our jobs,” she said. “We do not have money. We need to pay the bills. We need money for food. “
Nathalie Prudhomme, a gas station attendant in uniform for almost 20 years, also wants her job back.
“I am here today to ask for the hotel to reopen, because everyone is suffering,” she said.
Diplomat has 209,000 square feet of convention space. Brookfield Properties, which owns the building, but does not manage day-to-day operations, said in a statement to Local 10 News that conventions and events are necessary for the property to reopen.
“Unfortunately, we do not know when we will be able to reopen the hotel,” the statement said. “Unlike smaller hotels with tourist support, group hotels like Diplomat cannot operate without conventions and events operating at full or near full capacity. It is a sad reality for the Diplomat community and its workforce, as well as for all local restaurants and businesses that depend on conventions and the people they bring. “
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A new management company, Ainbridge Hospitality, has been hired to manage day-to-day operations.
No one from Ainbridge returned calls or emails on Friday from Local 10 News looking for comment.
Vasquez and others are eager to receive federal stimulus money, while waiting for a chance to get back to work.
“Thanks to the president. Thank you to the United States, ”she said. “But we need our money and our jobs.”
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