Last month, members of Culinary Workers Union Local 226 attended a hearing on Capitol Hill focused on affordability issues. The union has argued that the Trump administration’s tariffs, immigration policies and verbal attacks on Canada have led to the decline in the city’s tourism.
Among the members affected is Lidia Murillo, who works two jobs to make ends meet.
“It’s all reliant on tourism and how much staff is needed,” she said. “If no one is visiting, then we have no work.”
These days, she spends more time searching for coupons and scrutinizing prices while grocery shopping for her husband and four children who live at home. She has stopped splurging on packs of Canelitas, their favorite type of Mexican cookie.
“We have to limit ourselves a lot right now,” she said.