LOS ANGELES — In a red-shirted sea of hundreds of striking hotel workers marching through downtown Los Angeles on the Fourth of July, Ada Briceño, Susan Minato and Kurt Petersen were just faces in the crowd.
They spread across the width of Olympic Boulevard — Minato on the left, Petersen to the right and Briceño in the center — about five rows back from a massive banner that read "ON STRIKE." Briceño walked alone. Minato held her arms in a "V" for Victory whenever passing cars honked. Petersen gently pushed marchers back with caution tape to shield them from oncoming traffic.
Sometimes, the trio clapped along to the deafening beats of pans and drums. Mostly, they stayed silent and took in the scene, part of the largest hotel workers' strike in U.S. history.
