UNITE HERE Locals 11 and 40 Demand U. S. Government Stop Forgiving Westmont-Connected Paycheck Protection Program Loans

UNITE HERE Local 11, which represents 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California, and UNITE HERE Local 40, which has over 5,000 members in British Columbia, wrote to the U.S. Small Business Administration calling for an immediate halt to loan forgiveness for $34 million in Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans connected to Westmont Hospitality Group. Although Congress intended PPP loans be used by small businesses, Westmont claims to be one of the largest privately-held hospitality organizations in the world, holding an ownership interest in and operating over 500 hotels.i