Momentum is gaining for striking hotel workers as five new hotels reach deals with the union.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

“After five months of on-and-off strikes by Southern California hotel workers, there are signs of progress toward a resolution.

On Friday, Unite Here Local 11 announced it had reached a tentative contract agreement with the Beverly Hilton covering more than 500 unionized workers.

The union struck deals Saturday with two other properties managed by Hilton: for some 300 workers at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills, and about 800 workers at the Hilton Anaheim.

Unite Here Local 11 also nailed down a tentative agreement Saturday with Hilton Costa Mesa, a property that carries the Hilton name but is operated independently. The Costa Mesa deal covers about 200 workers, union spokesperson Rachel Sulkes said.

In total, nine hotels have reached tentative contract agreements with Unite Here Local 11.

The union has declined to give specifics on wages and other economic details of the agreements it has reached thus far, and the contracts have not yet been put to a vote by workers. Union spokesperson Maria Hernandez has said that the contracts — once ratified by workers at the various hotels — will raise wages, strengthen pensions and increase investments in healthcare.

The nine hotels represent a small portion of the some 60 hotel sites in Los Angeles and Orange counties hit by a series of sporadic strikes after contracts covering more than 15,000 housekeepers, cooks, dishwashers, servers, and front desk workers expired June 30.

But momentum to settle the strike appears to be building as winter holidays and the Hollywood awards season pick up. Three of the four hotels reaching contract agreements in recent days had been part of a coordinated bargaining group said to represent owners and operators of more than 40 Southern California properties, Sulkes said.”

For the rest of the story, visit the Los Angeles Times here.