By CHRISTINA KELLEY

A local hotel workers union is proposing panic buttons to protect housekeepers who work in Rancho Palos Verdes hotels, including Trump National Golf Club and Terranea Resort.

Unite Here Local 11 announced that it filed paperwork to put a measure on the November ballot that would require major hospitality employers in Rancho Palos Verdes to protect employees against sexual threats and assault, including panic buttons for workers who clean guest rooms.

Union leaders said they were backing practical solutions to the problem of sexual assault in the workplace as part of the #MeToo movement.

A local hotel workers union is proposing panic buttons to protect housekeepers who work in Rancho Palos Verdes hotels, including Trump National Golf Club and Terranea Resort.

Protecting Employees From Sexual Threats
Unite Here Local 11 announced that it filed paperwork to put a measure on the November ballot that would require major hospitality employers in Rancho Palos Verdes to protect employees against sexual threats and assault, including panic buttons for workers who clean guest rooms.

Union leaders said they were backing practical solutions to the problem of sexual assault in the workplace as part of the #MeToo movement.

Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. Credit Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

By JENNIFER MEDINA

ANAHEIM, Calif. — On Disneyland’s Main Street, Emily Bertola spends hours working on her feet, embroidering names onto mouse ears at the Mad Hatter shop, where she has been an employee for the last two years. She usually offers visitors the sunny smile she was trained to give.

None of her customers know that for months, she slept in the back of her truck, showering at the park before her shift.

Her struggle is hardly unique to Disneyland.

(Los Angeles Times coverage on February 26, 2018 of claims by workers at Terranea Resort who claim they need panic buttons to stay safe on the job. CLUE supports UniteHERE and the hotel workers in this initiative to increase workplace safety.)

A woman relaxes by the fire pit overlooking the swimming pool and ocean at the Terranea resort in Rancho Palos Verdes. A proposed ordinance would require the hotel and a nearby golf club to provide "panic buttons" to address sexual assaults and other emergencies. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

By HUGO MARTIN

Hospitality workers in Rancho Palos Verdes are proposing an ordinance to require the exclusive Terranea Resort and nearby Trump National Golf Club to supply employees with "panic buttons" to alert authorities in the case of a sexual assault.

A union representing hospitality workers said it filed paperwork with the Rancho Palos Verdes city clerk Tuesday, seeking to put the measure on the November ballot. Once the paperwork is approved, Unite Here, Local 11, will have 90 days to collect about 4,000 signatures to put the measure on the ballot.

LOS ANGELES — A group of immigrant rights activists attempted to block a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement van Thursday night from leaving the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles.

The activists gathered around 7 p.m. in the area of Aliso and Alameda streets, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The crowd eventually dispersed and no arrests were made, according to LAPD Officer Tony Im.