Recently, I participated in an act of civil disobedience to support hotel workers across LA County. It wasn’t my first. And, it’s likely not to be my last.

Seek good and not evil,
    that you may live;
and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you,
    just as you have said.
¹⁵ Hate evil and love good,
    and establish justice in the gate;

~Amos 5: 15-16

I follow the prophetic teaching of the Hebrew Bible to seek justice, and I wear the yoke of Christ. And in that – through that – with that, I bear a responsibility to use my voice and privileged space of ordained leadership to speak for God’s justice.

So, it was on a rather warm June afternoon that I lined up alongside hundred’s of other faith leaders, union organizers, and supporters, to call for fair labor practices in the hotel industry. Occupying an entire block of Century Boulevard in the shadow of LAX, we stood and chanted for hours. And then, our permit to occupy the boulevard ended, and we were asked to disperse.

I disobeyed, and instead I sat down.

I sat DOWN to stand UP for fair labor practices in the massive and expanding hotel/tourist industry of Los Angeles.

I sat DOWN to stand UP to those who are profiting – at workers’ expense – by the upturn in tourism in our “post” COVID world.

I sat DOWN to stand UP to those in power – those who hold the purse strings – to those will reap the massive benefits of the next World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.

I sat DOWN to stand UP in solidarity with hospitality workers leading the charge for all of us to “live where we work!”

I sat DOWN to stand UP in support of 30,000+ hospitality workers in LA County who are asking for a livable hourly wage and healthy work practices.

With the World Cup and the Olympics on the calendar and the tourism industry leading the county’s income bracket, it is inconceivable that the labor force is not respected or paid a wage in which they can live and work.  I have met so many of these workers; many of them commute 2+ hours each way; 1/3 of them were never rehired after COVID, and we are full on back from COVID – hotel check ins are back to pre pandemic level; they have no health insurance … I could go on and on.  These work practices is unjust and inequitable.  They contribute institutionally and significantly to the systemic poverty of God’s people.

~ Rev. Jennifer Gutierrez, CLUE Executive Dir.,
Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice

Engaging in an act of civil disobedience is something I undertake only after much prayerful reflection. I ask God: “is this what you would have me do, Lord?;” and “is this where you need me?;” and “is this your voice – your will – through me?” And, I listen deeply to the cries of God’s people that I am being asked to stand alongside.

As I considered this action and my subsequent arrest, I recalled my recent pilgrimage to Montgomery and Selma, Alabama. I learned much from that trip; there was so much to take in. Months later, I am beginning to see how God would have me live out this experience in the deep South. I am seeing how this journey in the civil rights “heartland” must impact my ongoing work as an ordained minister.

My time in Alabama taught me that there is no one “right” person; no one “right” time; no one “right” place for action. In our justice work, we stand on shoulders of many giants and places and actions. None of whom knew what might come from their decisions, or what might stem from these events in these places. None of them thought that there were giants. None of them knew that any one thing that they did – any one act or choice that they made – would have impact. They didn’t act with a guaranteed outcome.

Instead, they acted in faith.

And, they acted with hope.

They acted because they trusted that not to act was worse than acting with faith and hope.

They acted with the conviction that to follow Christ means to open one’s heart to the world’s pains and to commit to being part of the salve, to being part of meaningful change, of long-term solutions.

And so, it is in following the giants of my faith and many faith traditions that I also act in faith. I also act in hope — faith and hope impacting my actions — proclaiming that we must be part of the solution. Workers deserve to live without 2+ hours commutes. Workers deserve health care. Workers deserve to not be slave to their employers and to not be slave to the work itself.

Walking the walk,

Rev. Melinda Teter Dodge