SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Bernie Sanders is showing his support for dozens of hotel workers on strike over their pay and benefits. The former presidential candidate stood alongside protestors at The Westin Hotel on Friday.
“Nobody wants to do this. We would all like to work right now,” says employee Arturo Ramirez.
Ramirez has been working at The Westin Hotel since February. With the high cost of living in San Diego, Ramirez says its sometimes hard to pay the bills.
“My mother and I, we work at the same hotel. We’re struggling to pay $2,100 in rent," Ramirez says.
Bernie Sanders took the stage to show his support to workers during his visit to San Diego.
“We’re saying to Marriott who owns Westin, we’re saying to every corporation in this country who make billions of dollars in profit, pay your workers a living wage," Sanders said to a crowd of protesters.
Employees are asking for a raise of at least $20 an hour and a chance to save for their retirement.
“It’s a billion dollar company that needs to pay the workers a living wage so they can live in the city of San Diego," says Bridgett Browning, President of Unite Here Union. Browning says employee wages at The Westin are lower than competing hotels.
Unite Here union says they will go into negotiations with The Westin Hotel on Monday.
10News reached out to the hotel, we are still waiting for a response.
