Workers: Heat Lamps Shined On Hyatt Hotel Picket Line (in 90+ heat)

[Brickbat]

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/07/21/workers-heat-lamps-shined-on-hyatt-hotel-picket-line/

CHICAGO (CBS) — Union workers say someone turned on the heat lamps in blazing hot broad daylight Thursday, as they walked a picket line in front of the Park Hyatt Hotel.

As WBBM Newsradio 780’s Mike Krauser reports, workers at Hyatt Hotels in nine cities are walking picket lines Thursday, trying to pressure the hotel into coming to an agreement on a new contract.

The Park Hyatt at 800 N. Michigan Ave. was among the hotels where picketing was held, and at some point Thursday morning, someone turned on the outdoor heat lamps that are usually used in winter.

Combined with the outdoor air temperature, Linda Long says it was hotter than the Hyatt kitchen she’s worked in for eleven years.

[Warpy]

1. If the pickets were on public property, that can be called assault

I hope the union has a rabid lawyer on retainer. The hotel can be hit with a pretty hefty fine for that.

Just as they're not allowed to turn their fire hoses on pickets on the public sidewalk, they're not allowed to use any other physical means to discourage them.

[surrealAmerican]

18. I agree.

This should be a criminal matter. It was over 100 degrees out there yesterday. They could have killed somebody.

[hunter]

2. Hyatt was only trying to make things comfortable for Satan when he arrived.

Union-busting is one of the devil's favorite consulting gigs.

[Blue Owl]

3. Irony is the heat lamps were probably union-made

n/t

[eilen]

4. Pritzker Obama's Turd Way Princess. Lie down with union busting dogs... get up with bedbugs.

In case you didn’t know, Hyatt is owned by the Pritzker family. Heiress, Penny Sue Pritzker chairs Obama’s national campaign finance committee. She is also big player in Democratic Party politics as well as in the world of anti-union, corporate school reform and was recently appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to a seat on the Chicago school board.

Pritzker’s response to the Park Hyatt strikers was to turn on the hotel’s powerful heating lamps to try and bake the workers into submission on this brutally hot day. But this seemingly inhuman and probably illegal response seemed to have had just the opposite effect. Picketers began chanting, “Hyatt can’t take the heat, but we can!” The lamps were left on until word got out and media began to show up.

She was disqualified from serving as his commerce secretary because of her involvement with subprime mortgage corruption at Superior Bank.

Temperatures were at a 106 degree high in Chicago today.

In Boston, Hyatt had replaced their housekeepers with temps making minimum wage. This is what the picketers were protesting.

http://my.firedoglake.com/teddysanfran/2011/07/21/obamas-finance-chair-broils-striking-hotel-workers/

[FLAprogressive]

6. Wow.

[Brickbat]

9. Yep, I knew that.

It's all part of the puzzle. Capital against workers.

[Bluebear]

10. +

[Change has come]

11. Oh My God.

This picture is becoming clearer.

[indurancevile]

15. wow, you inspired me to look up hyatt;s history, here;s the other part of that equation: son of the

founder, jack crouch: seems hyatt plays both sides:

Jack Dyer Crouch II (born July 1, 1958) was appointed Deputy National Security Advisor by U.S. President George W. Bush in March 2005. He previously served as U.S. Ambassador to Romania (2004-2005) and as an Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Policy, among other positions in government under Republican administrations.

From 1990 to 1992 he served in the administration of George H. W. Bush as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy.

Before joining the administration, from 1993 to 2001, Crouch was Associate Professor of Defense and Strategic Studies at Southwest Missouri State University. He was member of the Board of Editors of Comparative Strategy and a member of the Board of Advisors of the Center for Security Policy. While at Missouri, he also served as a reserve deputy sheriff in Christian County.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_D._Crouch

[eilen]

21. Which leads one to ask... are there really two sides? nt

[Divine Discontent]

17. not good at all........

[FLAprogressive]

5. Take it up with the NLRB

[eilen]

7. Well, they have been so effective standing up for

public employee unions NOT. Teachers... NOT.

[former9thward]

8. NLRB has no jurisdiction in the public sector.

Only private sector workers/employers.

[eilen]

13. I see. Thanks. I'll ratchet it down I guess.

I am a little sensitive about labor in general as my dh is union. It looks to me like the unions are one their way to being broken and many union members are participating in that. There is a strike up at Nine Mile Nuclear Plant now and Constellation Energy has hired replacement workers. There are actual union members from my husband's union hall who have crossed that picket line. His union has a no-strike in its contract but it shows they have little principle or sense of brotherhood having bought into the Fox News/Limpball line. It is just very upsetting. Once they break the unions (which is certainly a goal of not just the Republicans but also Third Way Democrats) then they will continue to attack and attempt to water down the labor laws. Last year there was a big scandal about the treatment of some Mexican undocumented workers from one of the vendors at the State Fair. There is actually a democratic politician who is looking to exempt vendors in fairs from the labor laws and allow this scumbag to bring his business back to the Fair.

[indurancevile]

14. well, when the union goes you;ll at least have the satisfaction of seeing

the picket line crossers screaming like wounded pigs when they get busted down to minimum wage, no benefits.

seems people learn nothing

[flvegan]

12. I'm just glad nobody resorted to doing anything to smash them.

Because that would be...wrong, or something.

Defense, people. Never offense. Never ever ever offense.

[Ignis]

20. We can't destroy PROPERTY! That would be horrible!

Certainly worse than damaging people, at any rate.

:puke:

[SpiralHawk]

16. Wow - Republicon Family Cesspool Values

as usual.

[snot]

19. Did anyone call the police?