Long Beach police are investigating after a union representing local hotel workers began circulating a video that shows an investor at the Hotel Maya shouting at workers picketing outside the property.

The union, Unite Here Local 11 — which has been leading labor demonstrations across the region calling for higher wages for hotel workers — alleges the investor also attacked one of the picketing workers off-camera.

“He hit my hand and threw the megaphone to the floor,” a hotel housekeeper identified only as Camila said in Spanish in a video posted to X. “He grabbed my arm very roughly and hurt me. He began to insult me very rudely.”

The investor, Frank Zarabi, denied the accusation through a spokesman and longtime advisor, Kasey Konkright. Konkright said he has worked with Zarabi for years and could not imagine him putting his hands on someone.

Long Beach police said they were called to the incident on Friday, Dec. 13 where they took a report of an alleged battery. A police spokesperson said the department is still investigating, and declined to confirm further details.

This is not the first time tensions have run high recently at Hotel Maya or the first time Unite Here Local 11 has alleged its picketing workers were targeted with violence.

In August, a brawl erupted between picketers and guests attending a wedding at the Maya. Video footage from that day shows wedding guests and security guards using temporary fencing in an attempt to physically move picketers farther from the event before an unknown man assaulted four people on the union side.

“This is the second incident of violence at the hotel,” Unite Here Local 11 co-President Ada Briceño said in an interview Wednesday. “It’s very clear that the employer is not protecting workers.”

The union has gone public with videos of the altercations as they try to negotiate better pay and conditions for the 15,000 workers it represents at more than 60 hotels across the Los Angeles region.

The battle has so far lasted five months, resulting in what is believed to be the largest hotel strike in U.S. history.

In all, 20 hotels have reached agreements to raise wages as well as strengthen pensions and health benefits, including some major Marriott and Hilton properties, according to Unite Here Local 11 spokesperson Maria Hernandez, but the hotel Maya is not among them.

“We’re going to double-down on our strategy,” Briceño said, adding that workers without new contracts are becoming more upset as other hotels reach agreements. “Now that we’ve cleared some of them, we’re going to focus on employers like the Maya to ensure they understand we’re not going to accept anything less.”

Advisor Konkright, alleges that Zarabi was a victim of the union’s pressure campaign. Zarabi is the founder and president of Envision Hotel Partners, which is an investor in the Maya.

“They hoped to create a situation to cause something that would work in their favor,” he said.

Konkright said Zarabi was specifically targeted by the workers’ actions, which caused an older man Zarabi was with at the time to have a severe panic attack.

“Obviously, Papa Bear instincts are going to kick in,” Konkright said, noting that Zarabi did not use profanity or touch anyone in the seconds-long clip posted online.

Hotel General Manager Greg Guthrie, meanwhile, declined to comment on specifics of the incident, citing the ongoing investigation. Guthrie did, however, say picketers followed Zarabi into the hotel before returning to the picket line.

“Hotel Maya cares about the safety of its patrons and team members,” Guthrie said in his statement.

Maya management has laid blame on Unite Here Local 11 for the stalled negotiations. Continuous requests for bargaining sessions have fallen on deaf ears, according to spokesperson Cameron Andrews.

“The union has refused to meet with Hotel Maya so negotiations have not begun,” Andrews said.

Before the old contract expired, Unite Here submitted a contract proposal to all 60 hotels for consideration, according to the union.

In a Nov. 3 email, Unite Here co-President Kurt Petersen said the union has conditions that have not been met, including apologies for the violent incidents against workers and having medical bills paid for those who have been attacked.

The Maya, for its part, filed a complaint against the union with federal authorities, claiming it was stalling, intimidating and misleading amid the sluggish negotiations. Refusing to come to the table violates the National Labor Relations Act.

The previous contract expired at the end of June but the hotel has honored it amid the stalemate, Andrews noted.