LAT: Labor Protest Targets Airport-Area Hotels

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Labor Protest Targets Airport-Area Hotels

Hundreds are willingly arrested after sit-ins shut Century Boulevard. Few travelers miss flights.
By Joe Mathews
Times Staff Writer

September 29, 2006

About 300 people protesting the treatment of immigrant workers by hotels near Los Angeles International Airport were arrested Thursday night during two coordinated sit-ins in the middle of Century Boulevard east of the airport.

The arrests, which were planned in recent weeks with the cooperation of the Los Angeles Police Department, came after a short march of more than 2,000 people that closed Century Boulevard for three hours.

One group of about 170 people who had agreed in advance to be arrested sat down in front of the Hilton Los Angeles Airport just before 6 p.m. A smaller group sat down in front of the Westin Hotel to the east. In each spot, hundreds of marchers stood on the sidewalk, cheered, and chanted slogans such as "Sí Se Puede," "Boycott Hilton" and "No Justice, No Peace" along with the protesters in the street.

Those arrested had agreed in writing to be detained, and they offered no resistance as they were placed in plastic handcuffs and loaded onto buses for the ride to jail. Many were smiling as they were taken away.

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