LOS ANGELES – Palmdale resident Walter Almedarez recently lost his job of 23 years working as a bell man for the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.

“What I have learned is that you don’t know what can happen in two days, three days. You don’t know what can happen the next day,” Almedarez said. “I’m worried, I’m worried. I don’t know how much money I’m gonna be getting in unemployment. I don’t know if I’m gonna stay in this house. I don’t know how much longer I can stay in this house and my parents depend on me,” says Walter. 

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:

His wife and seven-month-old daughter depend on him as well, and now they’re all without health insurance.

We reached out to Chateu Marmont for comment and did not hear back.

But it’s much more than Chateau Marmont. From hotels to cruise ships and restaurants, the economic impact of COVID-19 on the tourism, hospitality and service industry is unprecedented. Even giants like Hilton and Marriott International will furlough tens of thousands of employees over the coming weeks. 

The result is that in the week that ended on March 21, 3.3 million Americans filed for unemployment, according to the Department of Labor; the most in U.S. history. The previous high was 695,000 claims filed in October of 1982.

“I have my mortgage, water, electricity, my personal debt and I have nothing, I have no income coming I have no insurance,” said Almedarez.

In an effort to aid workers, the City of Los Angeles is actively looking into a proposal which would require companies to rehire employees who are laid off during the pandemic, granting priority by seniority. 

At the national level, President Trump signed a $2 trillion stimulus bill, sending a one-time check of up to $1,200 to eligible households. But the money won’t even cover half of Almedarez’s bills for the month of April.

“I’m hoping to get something and that’s great that they’re helping us; but you know, what I’m fighting for is to get my job back, to have an income and from there we can start over,” he said.

Start over so maybe some day, not too far in the future, he can get back to a happier, stress-free time.