A hotel worker’s 3-hour commute tells the story of LA’s housing crisis and her strike

Brenda Mendoza was born and raised in Los Angeles’ Koreatown, just a 10-minute drive from the upscale JW Marriott hotel where she’s been working for 14 years.

But priced out of the downtown area she grew up in, Mendoza now lives almost 100 miles away in Apple Valley and commutes two to three hours each way to get to work.

"Rents are going high," Mendoza said, talking to NPR just outside the JW Marriott during a short break. She decided to move last year when rent for their two-bedroom apartment rose to $3,000 a month, making it unaffordable for her.

Long commutes, for Mendoza and many of her colleagues, are a key reason why they've been on rolling strikes since early July.

The union that represents the hotel workers, Unite Here Local 11, has come up with a unique proposal, directly tied to the housing crisis that workers face: a hospitality workforce housing fund. The idea is that hotels should charge a 7% fee on all guest rooms — and that money would help workers with their housing costs.

Los Angeles is notorious for its high cost of living. According to rental platform Zumper, the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment is more than $3,000, out of reach for many low-income workers.