Yesterday approximately 3,000 Hyatt employees began a week long strike in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Honolulu to protest Hyatt’s outsourcing practices and unsafe working conditions. According to UNITE HERE, a union comprised of over 250,000 hotel and hospitality workers across North America, since its contract with Hyatt Hotels Corporation expired approximately a year ago, Hyatt has replaced its housekeeping staff with temporary minimum wage employees.
John Wilhelm, the President of UNITE HERE, stated, “Hyatt workers are waging a crucial struggle. In the face of widening income inequality and the systematic eradication of the American middle class, Hyatt workers are bravely fighting for the ability to stand up for one another in contending with a global giant like Hyatt.”
The union is also seeking improved working conditions for housekeepers, who are required to clean approximately 30 rooms per day, which is nearly double the workload of housekeepers at other union hotels.
UNITE HERE Statement 9/8/11; Houston Chronicle 9/8/11; Chicago Tribune 9/8/11
