About Ada
Ada Briceño has dedicated her career to building grassroots organizations among working families, uplifting marginalized voices, and bringing together diverse communities into powerful progressive coalitions. In addition to union organizing and political work, she has led social justice campaigns including for immigrant rights, women’s rights, and environmental justice. She was named one of Orange County’s “100 Most Influential” by the Orange County Register in 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2014.
Ada Briceño immigrated to the United States from Nicaragua at age 7. Her family fled a hostile dictatorship. She settled in Orange County, California when she was 18, and began working as a hotel front desk clerk after high school. It was her first union job, and it provided her first pair of glasses and her best meal of the day.
Ada rose quickly to union leadership, and at age 26, she became the first Latina President of her union at a time when anti-immigrant, anti-worker sentiment thrived in Orange County. Her experience in this struggle shaped her decision to spearhead a historic campaign to change the political environment of Orange County.
Today, Ada serves as Co-President of UNITE-HERE Local 11, representing over 32,000 hotel workers in Los Angeles County, Orange County and Arizona. She is a National Steering Committee Member for the Labor Campaign for Single-Payer. She has been an instrumental part of living wage efforts and a vocal supporter of Medicare for All. Ada is County Commissioner serving on the OC Human Relations commission.
In 2023, UNITE-HERE Local 11 led the largest hotel strike in U.S. history. Room attendants and dishwashers are leading the way in ensuring that the tourism industry pays enough for their workers to live in the communities they have built.
In cities across Southern California, Ada and Local 11 are driving groundbreaking policy campaigns to improve the lives of working people. They won historic living wages for tens of thousands of tourism workers in the region, including the City of West Hollywood, which now has the highest citywide minimum wage in the country at $19.08 per hour. In 2024, she helped pass Measure RW, increasing the minimum wage in Long Beach to $23 per hour, with plans to increase it to $29.50 per hour by 2028.
Southern California had been a policy laboratory in creating laws to protect housekeepers from sexual assault and human trafficking, including a housekeeper protection law recently passed in Irvine requiring hotels to provide workers with panic buttons to keep room attendants safe. Local 11 was a founding member of the United to House LA Coalition, and went on to collect tens of thousands of signatures to create an affordable housing fund.
During the COVID pandemic, when up to 90% of hospitality workers lost their jobs, Ada was instrumental in passing state legislation sponsored by Local 11 to ensure a right for these workers to return to their jobs when the pandemic ended, saving the jobs of hundreds of thousands workers. Each of these legislative victories has become a model for Democratic state and local government leaders around the country in their efforts to make the American economy work for everyone.
In the 2020 Presidential election, in the face of a pandemic that shut down many in-person political programs, UNITE HERE Local 11 earned national recognition as the only major union to launch a full canvassing operation. In Arizona, workers safely knocked on roughly 800,000 doors. These efforts helped turn Arizona blue for the first time in more than seven decades, boosted Joe Biden’s margin of victory, and flipped a U.S. Senate seat. UNITE HERE Local 11 has continued these efforts, sending 120 members to the Georgia runoffs.
In 2020, Ada was elected a Democratic National Committee Member representing California. As a DNC member, Ada has strengthened an inclusive and accessible national organization, especially for under-represented voices including immigrants, working women and men, and communities of color. During her first DNC meeting, Ada introduced and passed a landmark resolution condemning misogyny and demanding equity for women.
Ada is active with the California Democratic Party, having served as Lead Co-Chair of the Finance Committee and as Lead Chair on the Ad Hoc Committee on Committee Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She currently serves as an Executive Board delegate.
Ada was elected Chair of the Democratic Party of Orange County in January 2019, and she is the first immigrant to hold that role.
Under Ada’s Leadership in Orange County:
- Voter Registration: The county has over 70,000 more Democrats since 2019.
- Blue Wave 2020: Democrats flip 20 seats from red to blue in 2020 and secure an historic plurality of school board seats in the county.
- Blue Wave 2022: Orange County Democrats flipped 22 seats and made history by turning the majority of the Board of Supervisors Blue.
- Funding to Win: Fundraising expanded with more call time and partnerships, to ultimately maintain the largest staff in the organization’s history and expand operations in the midst of a global pandemic.
Ada’s approach is driven by inclusivity, to give rise to the best ideas in any group: “At the core of my leadership is identifying, recruiting, and training leaders to expand our capacity. That’s how we win more for social justice and Democratic values.”
During her 32 years of work in the union, the importance of leadership development has been ingrained in her values. She believes that leaders must be developed at every stage of a campaign. Strengthening their innate abilities and teaching them new skills will bring success by uplifting marginalized voices in the community. Ada brings this same philosophy of leadership to every space where she leads: the Democratic Party, non-profit organizations, commissions, and unions.
Ada is a graduate of Cornell University’s National Labor Leadership Initiative, and she is trained in organizational transformation that creates continual growth. She is experienced in breaking stagnation to build up leaders for long-lasting, systemic change.
Ada has served in the following roles:
- Current member of the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s Environmental Justice Advisory Committee
- Former Chair of Orange County Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE), uniting faith and political advocacy to expand rights for workers and immigrants.
- Steering Committee member of the OC Women’s March, with over 20,000 attendees
- Former Board Member of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of Orange and San Bernardino Counties
- Founder and former Chair of Orange County Communities for Responsible Development, serving for 15 years
Endorsements
Yvonne Wheeler
Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, President
California State Treasurer
Attorney General of California
Superintendent of Public Education
Agi Kessler
CADEM Resolutions Committee, Chair
Valeria Hernandez
CADEM Rules Committee, Co-Chair
Izeah Chairez
CADEM Rules Committee, Vice Chair
CADEM Labor Caucus, Chair
Anita Narayana
CADEM Women’s Caucus, Member
Chef Basil
CADEM Veteran’s Caucus, Chair
CADEM Regional Director, Region 7
Humberto Gomez
CADEM Regional Director, Region 10
Maha Rizvi
CADEM Regional Director, Region 12
CADEM Regional Director, Region 13
Larry GrossCADEM Regional Director, Region 14
Primo CastroCADEM Regional Director, Region 15
Franbert CalderonCADEM Regional Director, Region 17
Luis Aleman
CADEM Regional Director, Region 19
CADEM Regional Director, Region 20
CADEM Regional Director, Region 22
Libby Frolichman
Democratic Party of Orange County, West Vice Chair
Lauren Johnson Norris
Democratic Party of Orange County, Southern Vice Chair
Florice Hoffman
Democratic Party of Orange County, Treasurer
Alan Fenning
Democratic Party of Orange County, Parliamentarian
Los Angeles Democratic Party, Chair
Mark Gonzalez
Los Angeles Democratic Party, Chair Emeritus
Manuel Zapata
San Joaquin County, Chair
Steven Auclair
Ventura Democrats, Chair
Pat Johnstone
Marin Democratic Party, Chair
Omar Torres
City Councilmember, City of San Jose District 3
Caroline Torosis
City Councilmember, City of Santa Monica
John Erickson
West Hollywood City Council, Councilmember
Western Municipal Water District
William Monroe
Communications Chair of Butte County
Asif Mahmood
Former Candidate for Congress
*Titles for identification purposes only.
Ada in the news
Irvine Boosts Hotel Housekeeper Protections Following Safety Concerns From Workers
“The guest is always right in the hotel industry and therefore we have seen a problem that has lasted for so long,” said Unite Here local 11 co-president Ada Briceño during public comment. The union has been pushing for housekeeper protections and represents 32,00 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona. “The workers are telling […]
Inside Democrats’ messaging in Southern California ahead of midterm elections
“There’s a lot at stake in this area, from climate change to women’s rights to local corruption issues and making sure we have a Board of Supervisors focused on our health in the middle of a pandemic,” said Ada Briceño, chair of the Orange County Democrats. To that end, the OC Democratic Party is focused […]
Look at how dramatically California changed — and where — in the 18 years since the last recall
Ada Briceño was scraping dishes at a convention hall in Orange County when then-Gov. Gray Davis finished his speech, walked through the kitchen and stretched out his hand. She slipped off her rubber gloves and shook it. The meeting set the Nicaraguan immigrant on a political path bookended by two recall campaigns 18 years apart. […]
Ada Briceño: The San Pedro Roots of Orange County’s Transformation
“If there’s a day that goes by and I’m not thinking about identifying one more person to help with any aspect of the social justice work that I do, then I’m really not doing my job.” – Ada Briceño Orange County’s transformation from the heartland of homogeneous Goldwater-era conservatism it once was to the diverse, […]
A labor leader guides Orange County Democrats’ quest to revamp county politics
Backed by a “Stop the Republican Recall” banner hanging from a kiosk at the Garden Grove offices of Unite Here Local 11, Ada Briceño rallied her base. Five of Orange County’s 10 Democratic mayors stood behind her alongside other elected officials during the Aug. 25 news conference in a display of political might as she […]
California Democratic Party Backs Chateau Marmont Boycott
California Democrats voted to formally boycott the Chateau Marmont at the state party’s annual convention May 2. The move comes as the famed L.A. hotel, which has spent the past year responding to accusations of worker mistreatment — including systemic racial discrimination and pervasive sexual harassment, as well as unjust labor practices following the onset of the […]
Rampant injustices at SoCal’s MWD: Ada Briceño
To most, the disturbing allegations of sexual harassment and assault, discrimination, bullying, unsafe working conditions and retaliation from employees at the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California may be as shocking as they are horrendous. For myself, they are a painful reminder of the gross injustices that workers are confronted with time and time […]
Most Influential: Meet Orange County’s 100 top influencers for 2020
In a year that was dominated by a worldwide pandemic, our list of the Most Influential People in Orange County for 2020, of course, reflects the battle with coronavirus on so many fronts. It also highlights people who were were involved with the social justice movement and those who work tirelessly to keep us safe. […]
Democrats can honor RBG by getting out to vote this November: Ada Briceño
When Ruth Bader Ginsburg graduated at the top of her class from Harvard Law School, she couldn’t find a job. When she later settled on teaching law at Columbia, she became the first woman to hold tenure there. Her story — of a woman denied freedom by arbitrary rules — is a familiar one. But […]
Orange County Voting at Near-Record Levels
SANTA ANA, Calif. — Election Day has finally arrived, but voter turnout in Orange County has already matched that of the 2008, 2012 and 2016 presidential elections. In 2008, the county recorded 1.1 million ballots cast, and so far this year the county has received nearly 1 million ballots through the mail or from drop boxes, […]
Orange County Reacts to Biden Victory
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — With the presidency all but decided, Donald Trump supporter Hillary Green held her “Keep America Great” flag aloft as it whipped in the wind. Hooded and zipped tight in a winter coat, Green stood in Huntington Beach in the rain on the corner of Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway. Long […]
They Lost Their Jobs In The Pandemic. Now Defeating Trump Is Full-Time Work.
Norberto Meniano feels as though everything in his life is riding on this election. So when the 49-year-old unemployed restaurant worker knocks on doors for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in Las Vegas, he starts the conversation by talking about himself. As a native of the Philippines, Meniano shudders at the way President Donald Trump […]
Opportunity Knocks: Canvassing in the Time of Covid
While Democrats abandoned in-person door knocking because of the pandemic, Republicans never stopped. Democrats have finally decided to end their unilateral disarmament. PHOENIX—With less than two weeks to Election Day and early voting already underway, Joe Biden’s campaign is finally resuming in-person canvassing in battleground states. It’s about time. The Biden team’s decision earlier this year to […]
Briceño: Racial Justice Starts in Our Own Backyard
Over the past week, we’ve seen communities rise up across Orange County and the nation to call out in righteous anger for the right to breathe. Nothing can replace George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Dion Johnson, and all those innocents who have lost their lives at the hands of those who swear an […]
What is ballot harvesting and how is it affecting Southern California elections?
As housekeepers, maintenance workers and other staff spilled out of the Anaheim Hilton and Sheraton during a lunch break in February, some headed to the parking lot between the hotels, clutching their mail-in ballots for the upcoming March 3 primary. They were greeted by members of the Democratic Party of Orange County, who were hosting […]
As she tended to her coronavirus-infected son, she also feared for the hospitality workers she represents
From the confines of her living room in Stanton, Ada Briceño watched the pandemic take a toll on the lives and daily routines of her family, colleagues and the 32,000 workers represented by Unite Here Local 11. Briceño, the co-president of Unite Here Local 11 and the chair of the Orange County Democratic Party, was […]
LA TIMES – OC Democrats try workplace ballot parties as a new way to get underrepresented voters to the polls
On a bright Saturday afternoon in February, hotel workers trickled out the sunny parking lot behind a Hilton Hotel in Anaheim during their break. They were greeted by Ada Briceño — familiar to many as the co-president of Unite Here Local 11, the union that represents hotel workers, including Hilton employees. She’s also the chair […]
VIDEO: OC Hotel Workers Learn About Voting Process in Ballot Party
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Just steps away from the magic of the Disneyland, hotel workers are learning about the wonders of voting. Juan Parra has only been a U.S. citizen for two years and this is the first time he will be able to vote in a presidential election. “I vote for kids, for the people […]
Union pledges Arizona turnout push to help Democrats
Leaders of Los Angeles-based Unite Here Local 11 say they’ll look to register 40,000 voters, knock on 650,000 doors and speak to 160,000 people. The organizing effort will be conducted by union workers from California and Arizona, Local 11 Co-president Ada Briceño said in a news conference in Los Angeles.
Mailbag: March for Women and equality on Jan. 18 in Santa Ana
As we march toward the 2020 presidential elections, now is the time to speak up loudly for the values that matter to us. It is up to all of us, no matter where we are in life, to show that our rights matter. That is why I will march in the Orange County Women’s March […]