"FIVE STAR hotel, one star pay!" That's what Joe, a doorman at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Chicago, had to say about his employer when he risked arrest by blocking traffic on a busy downtown street alongside more than 200 Hyatt workers and their allies.
The civil disobedience was part of a coordinated series of actions organized nationwide on July 22 by UNITE HERE as contracts for 45,000 hotel workers in 10 cities nationwide near a common expiration date. The demonstrations took place in more than a dozen cities, from San Diego to Boston, and points in between. The protests targeted the Hyatt hotel chain, which has advanced unreasonable demands in ongoing negotiations, the union says.
Annemarie Strassel, UNITE HERE Local 1's spokesperson, explained that the hotel is taking advantage of the recession to force through a 5-year contract, with cuts in benefits and little room for raises. This this is happening against the background of a rebound in the hotel industry--Hyatt is pulling in billions in profits...
The clear contrast between poverty wages for hotel workers and big profits for their employers helped draw a large crowd to the July 22 protests around the country. In Chicago, the sidewalks near the civil disobedience were lined with more than 1,000 supporters. Workers from other hotels and unions, and activists from many different movements were present in a remarkable display of solidarity...
http://socialistworker.org/2010/07/29/day-of-action-against-hyatt
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