Boston Hyatt fires housekeeping staff

[pscot]

Replaces housekeepers with minimum wage workers

http://consumerist.com/5361791/hyatts-in-boston-decide-to-outsource-housekeeping

Housekeepers at three Hyatt hotels in Boston made over $15 an hour and had benefits like 401(k) retirement plans and health insurance. On August 31st, Hyatt laid them off en masse—after first having them train their replacements under the guise of creating a holiday fill-in staff—and turned the housekeeping duties over to an outside firm.

The new housekeepers are a lot cheaper than the ones who had been directly employed by Hyatt, notes The Boston Globe:

Janice Loux, the president of Unite Here Local 26 ... said the new workers will make $8 an hour and receive no benefits, based on information from a Hospitality Staffing Solutions employee. Staffing firm president Rick Holliday sent out an e-mail stating his employees made competitive wages but didn't answer further questions.....


Update, September 18, 2009: A representative of Hyatt would like to add an official statement to this post that clarifies their position on this. Here ya go:

Due to the unprecedented economic environment, the Hyatt hotels in Boston – like businesses all over America – have had to make very difficult decisions to adjust costs in response to continuing declines in revenue. Unfortunately, these decisions have affected our associates at Boston-area properties. A restructuring of our housekeeping services included staff reductions that we deeply regret. We are providing the affected associates with assistance, including severance and outplacement counseling.

Hyatt is committed to treating our employees with honesty and respect. The Hyatt Boston properties have worked with Hospitality Staffing Solutions (HSS) for several years, with Hyatt and HSS employees working side by side on our housekeeping staffs. During this time, HSS has demonstrated that under our supervision it can provide excellent services, which deliver a level of quality consistent with Hyatt's demanding standards.

Amy Patti
Public Relations Manager
Hyatt

[47of74]

1. Nice

Now that's really a nice thing for the management to do. I won't be staying at Hyatt any more after that.

[babylonsister]

2. They didn't have a union? This positively stinks. Boycott all Hyatt!

:grr:

[KamaAina]

23. Nope.

Janice Loux, the president of Unite Here Local 26 (which the Hyatt employees were not members of)...

:grr:

[rurallib]

3. These savings will be reflected in the CEOs pay.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

4. Bingo.

[n2doc]

8. 'cause you know they won't lower their room rates

Wouldn't be good for thair image, ya know...

[Blue_Tires]

10. +1

[SammyWinstonJack]

16. Oh yeah. nt

[havocmom]

5. Will we hear that top management of the corporation will take big pay cuts

due to the unprecedented economic environment?

No, didn't think so.

Big Corporation Management seems to value themselves very highly. Even as they spend decades actually lowering real wages for middle class, working class, working poor then wondering why their customer base keeps shrinking, they still value themselves and their self defeating practices.

Capitalism dead from same virus that killed communism: the over-reaching greed of the decision makers.

[TwilightGardener]

6. LOL--having them unknowingly train their replacements first, for free--good one, Hyatt!

Do they really think they're going to get the same level of housekeeping out of a lower-paid workforce? Nope, they're going to turn themselves into Super-8.

[AndyA]

7. Please take a moment to let Hyatt know how you feel about this.

Several thousand complaints ought to have some impact. When they discover they will lose business because of this action, they might think before doing it again.

http://www.hyatt.com/hyatt/customer-service/share-feedback/website-feedback-form.jsp

[CurtEastPoint]

9. Done. n/t

[Flying Dream Blues]

11. Blistering email sent. nt

[katandmoon]

13. Done!

[Mari333]

17. done.

[alcibiades_mystery]

12. This is a disgrace that can be reversed with pressure: everyone MUST contact them immediately

[Gman2]

14. Thats it! No more masturbating to that gaunt blonde stickfigure Hilton.

[beltanefauve]

15. Kicked, recommended,

and letter sent as well. Good riddance, Hyatt!

[grantcart]

18. disgusting

[FarCenter]

19. Send an email to Obama's good friend Penney Pritzker, who's on the board

The Pritzker family owns Hyatt.

[bajamary]

20. Obama's buddy, Penny Pritzker's address

Penny Pritzker is on the board of directors of the Hyatt Corporation. I believe the Pritzker Family owns the controling private shares of this corporation.

Well folks, the public records on political contributions shows the home address of Penny Pritzker.

This is from The Huffington Post's site of political contributors.
http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/neighbors.php?type=n...

She contributed the following, among many other donations:
Updated
Q3/2008
Hillary Clinton $4,600

Penny Pritzker
1875 N ORCHARD ST
Chicago IL 60614


In case you're curious for more information on Penny, here's Penny Pritzker's own website

http://www.penny-pritzker.com/index.html

[beltanefauve]

21. Sent an e mail,

and got a reply:

Dear _______,
Thank you so much for taking the time to express your concern regarding recent developments at Hyatt Hotels in Boston. At Hyatt, we value and respect all our associates, care about the communities in which we operate and deeply regret whenever staff reductions are necessary. The difficult decision to outsource the housekeeping function at our Boston properties was made in response to the unprecedented economic challenges those hotels are facing in the current business environment. It was not made lightly. A precipitous drop in revenues at our Boston hotels has made major cost cutting measures necessary. The decision to outsource the housekeeping function is the most recent in a long series of efforts to control costs. We have eliminated management positions at all three hotels, reduced staff in multiple departments and made significant cuts in sales, marketing and administrative budgets. Though the business downturn has necessitated difficult decisions for us as it has for so many other employers, Hyatt always strives to treat its employees with care and consideration. Despite what has been reported, the hotels in Boston have treated their housekeepers with fairness and dignity. Press reports suggesting that we “tricked our associates into training their replacements” are absolutely false. The transition to contract housekeeping services was not sudden and secretive. In fact, the company providing housekeeping services to our Boston Hotels – Hospitality Staffing Solutions (HSS) – has been working with two of the three hotels for more than three years, with Hyatt and HSS employees working side-by-side every day. When the properties completed the transition to all contract personnel in housekeeping on August 31 approximately half of the housekeeping staff at two of the three Boston Hyatt Hotels were HSS employees. We are providing resources and support to assist employees who have lost their jobs as they seek new employment. o The housekeepers were invited to apply for open positions at the three hotels, however there are very few positions available due to economic conditions. They will continue to be welcome to apply for jobs at Hyatt hotels as positions become available. o We worked with local hotels and provided each housekeeper with current job openings. o We provided them with an Employee Assistance helpline, assisted them with benefit transition paperwork. o We provided severance benefits. Because we have a longstanding relationship with HSS, we’re confident that HSS personnel working according to Hyatt standards can provide Hyatt-quality housekeeping services. The savings realized from these arrangements contribute significantly to the financial stability of our properties, which allows us to continue to provide services to our guests and enables Hyatt properties to continue to be major employers in the Boston area. The HSS employees serving our properties in Boston are living in the area. They are not from outside of the community. So the notion that jobs were exported to somewhere outside of Boston is inaccurate. Contrary to published reports, HSS does offer a wide range of benefits to its employees. Hyatt properties continue to be significant employers in Massachusetts with approximately 600 employees. Best Regards, Dana Mowrey Hyatt Consumer Affairs 800 323 7249 ext 7359 fax [phone] attn Dana

Looks like they're feeling the heat. let's keep it going!

[beltanefauve]

22. This needs a kick

It's been on NPR, it's been in the Boston Globe, and people in Boston are outraged and staging protests, but beyond that, this thread has so far sunk like a stone, and the Boycott Hyatt page on Facebook only has 53 members.

[myrna minx]

24. How disgusting. n/t