The Grunion
Safety Together
By Jeremy Harris, Senior VP, Chamber of Commerce, LB Hospitality Alliance
April 5, 2018
Safety is the number one priority for Long Beach's hospitality industry. Every year, our hotels serve millions of guests and employ thousands of workers. Knowing this great responsibility, we administer many safety protocols and programs that aim to protect our employees and guests from harm.
We very much appreciate input from the Long Beach City Council, and appreciated their wise approach last fall that rejected an over-reaching ordinance with restrictive mandates that had nothing to do with the safety of employees and guests.
This week, we are sharing a safety progress report with the City Council. We are proud to say that each alliance hotel has provided housekeepers and employees who work alone with an employee safety device. We have also provided training to ensure employees know how to properly use the device.
Moreover, we have conducted more than 1,000 hours of safety training for employees over the past year. This includes sexual harassment prevention trainings, personal self-defense classes through Force Training Institute, trainings to identify and report human trafficking with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Salvation Army, as well as partnering with the WomenShelter of Long Beach on domestic violence awareness.
As a part of National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we are also launching our #SafetyTogether educational campaign with other business and community organizations to elevate awareness of sexual assault and educate employees and customers on resources available to report assault, support survivors and prevent sexual violence.
We believe that one assault is too many and we are encouraging everyone to join together to prevent future incidents.
As local employers in this great city, we are your partners. Together, we know that we can keep our community safe for each of us to enjoy.
