In These Times
06-21-2011, 07:54 PM
CHICAGO—How can seven housekeepers keep up with the 2,019 rooms at the Hyatt Regency hotel during their shift? They can’t—that’s why they went on strike. Union cooks, bellmen, dishwashers, housekeepers and other Hyatt workers woke up at 4 a.m. Monday, June 20, to picket outside three Hyatt locations in a one-day strike after more than 20 months of negotiation with the company.
By the afternoon, they were joined on the picket line at the Hyatt headquarters on Wacker Drive by hundreds of religious activists and leaders who were in town as part of the 15th annual Interfaith Worker Justice Conference (http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/11545/interfaith_worker_justice_celebrates_its_15th_anniversary/). Activists sang spiritual hymns, chanted and prayed not only for Hyatt workers, but also for Hyatt management, asking them to see the light.
After months of bargaining, Unite Here Local 1 has won a 3-year contractual agreement with Hilton and Starwood hotel companies this year. While Hyatt has indicated support for a contract that would match some of the settlements of Hilton and Starwood for union employees, the company continues to refuse a fair bargaining process for workers at non-union hotels, remaining the last of the three largest hotel chains to do so. Another sticking point for Hyatt is the subcontracting out of new work.
More... (http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/11548/hyatt_workers_stage_one-day_strike/)
By the afternoon, they were joined on the picket line at the Hyatt headquarters on Wacker Drive by hundreds of religious activists and leaders who were in town as part of the 15th annual Interfaith Worker Justice Conference (http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/11545/interfaith_worker_justice_celebrates_its_15th_anniversary/). Activists sang spiritual hymns, chanted and prayed not only for Hyatt workers, but also for Hyatt management, asking them to see the light.
After months of bargaining, Unite Here Local 1 has won a 3-year contractual agreement with Hilton and Starwood hotel companies this year. While Hyatt has indicated support for a contract that would match some of the settlements of Hilton and Starwood for union employees, the company continues to refuse a fair bargaining process for workers at non-union hotels, remaining the last of the three largest hotel chains to do so. Another sticking point for Hyatt is the subcontracting out of new work.
More... (http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/11548/hyatt_workers_stage_one-day_strike/)