Author Archives for Ann Kammerer
On Wednesday, May 2, 1,006 Local 25 members who work at the 21 hotels covered by the newly negotiated contract voted on the agreement that was reached with industry operators just a few days earlier. The results of the ratification vote were 99.5% in favor.
The new contract, which is the best in Local 25’s history, comes at a critical time for the union. As the global economy struggles to recover, as the cost of health care and retirement skyrockets, and as the nation’s political environment is increasingly poisoned by greedy anti-union politicians and their corporate underwriters, this new contract provides Local 25 members with 5 1/2 years of unparalleled job security, raises, improvement in benefits, and increased rights on the job. The contract ensures that the Local 25 members, who work in one of North America’s most profitable hospitality markets, can afford to have a good quality of life.
Via Real Food Real Jobs–Over the past four months, Chicago’s lunchroom workers have spoken with parents across the city about their vision for the food served to Chicago’s schoolchildren. The workers, members of UNITE HERE Local 1, also took their vision for freshly cooked food to the bargaining table. Today, in a landmark agreement, the workers and the Chicago Board of Education signed a new union contract that begins to ensure Chicago’s kids will eat fresh food for years to come.
In addition to important improvements in wages, protecting health care and job security, the contract begins to change the food model in Chicago’s schools by halting any expansion of “frozen food” schools.
The lunchroom workers’ “Let’s Cook” campaign, part of Real Food Real Jobs, had drawn particular attention to the increasing use of frozen, pre-plated meals in the schools. Now, with the exception of one school, the Board of Education has committed to stop transitioning schools from cooking to “warming” kitchens. This victory ensures many Chicago children avoid a future school diet of reheated frozen food and highlights the positive changes possible when frontline workers and administrators collaborate.
“This is a great victory because our voice was heard. We have not only stopped the expansion of frozen food in our schools but also maintained our benefits and our jobs,” said Constance Hatchett, a 12-year CPS lunchroom cook from Hope Academy.
As part of this agreement, CPS will actively solicit and incorporate input from lunchroom workers. A “Good Food Committee,” with representatives from both the Board of Education and frontline workers, will meet monthly to identify best practices regarding healthy food. A bi-annual survey of lunchroom workers will also be conducted to ensure worker input on menu or program changes in schools.
“We’re proud that the lunchroom workers brought the issue of palatable, freshly prepared food to the table,” said Henry Tamarin, President of UNITE HERE Local 1. “It’s a fair settlement but we still have some work to do with the Board of Education. There are still some students in the system subjected to pre-packaged, frozen food every day from the time they start kindergarten to the time they leave 8th grade. All students deserve freshly prepared food.”
The 5-year agreement covers more than 3,200 lunchroom workers who prepare and serve over 77,000 breakfasts and 280,000 lunches every day in over 600 schools. Lunchroom workers ratified the contract on April 28 and look forward to further efforts to ensure Chicago’s kids are fed the food they deserve.
Read the press coverage below:
While Seattle’s downtown hotel sector sets for widely projected growth and profitability, its workforce endures poverty wages, pain and injury from unsustainable management practices. Our Pain, Their Gain: The hidden costs of profitability in Seattle’s downtown hotels reveals how industry practices keep workers in poverty with low wages and inadequate health benefits, requiring public dollars to subsidize their health care costs, their food and housing. This report, just released by Puget Sound Sage, a regional economic policy advocacy center, is available at: www.pugetsoundsage.org/hotelreport
"We found that hotel workers, who are mostly people of color and family breadwinners, not only earn wages at poverty level," said Howard Greenwich, research director for Puget Sound Sage. "They endure pain and injury at higher rates than almost any other industry—including construction and coal mining. Meanwhile, industry profits are rising rapidly."
Economic hardships and hazardous conditions endured by hotel employees are disproportionately borne by workers of color and by immigrants. Pain and injury are disproportionately borne by women, who comprise most of the hotel housekeeping workforce. While living paycheck to paycheck, some even qualify for public assistance. Yet, the work is grueling. A typical housekeeper cleans 15 rooms a day, strips over 500 pounds of soiled linen, replacing it with 500 pounds of clean linen, lifting a mattress over 60 times a day.
"I’ve seen people quit hotel jobs because their bodies can’t take the work," said housekeeper Jian Hua Wu. "And it’s not just hard; it’s dangerous. When workers are forced to go faster and faster, we get hurt." More worker quotes are available at: www.pugetsoundsage.org/hotelreport
King County Councilmember and Chair of the county’s Board of Public Health, Joe McDermott, calls on elected officials and the privatesector to set the region’s tourism and hospitality industries on the right path. "This report sets forward principles and a framework and we’re going to study these and see if we can’t take the "high road" in hotel and hospitality—a sector that’s set to expand rapidly in the near future," said McDermott. "A healthy region sustains its families, invests in workers and supports businesses that help create healthy communities," he said.
Click here to download the report.
Click here to learn more.
LOS ANGELES — Hotel housekeepers will join U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis at the Action Summit on Worker Safety and Health on Thursday, April 26, at East LA College to discuss the hidden dangers hotel workers face daily.
The event, scheduled on Workers’ Memorial Day, is part of the Labor Secretary’s new education and outreach effort to keep workers safe.
"We rush from room to room, lifting heavy mattresses, scrubbing floors on our knees and climbing to reach high surfaces," said Linda Lopez, a Hyatt Century Plaza housekeeper. "Our bodies can’t sustain this kind of work over the course of career."
The injury rate for hotel workers is 62% higher than for all service workers, according to the recent government data. Among these hotel workers, one peer-reviewed study showed that housekeepers suffer the highest injury rates of all. Another study of almost 1,000 housekeepers reported that more than three-quarters experienced work-related pain during the last 12 months. 62% of these visited a doctor for their pain.
Hotel housekeeper Argelia Rico will join a construction worker and nurse on a panel discussing new strategies to make workplaces safer. In one such strategy, housekeepers and their union, UNITE HERE, are pushing for a new Cal/OSHA safety standard that will to prevent disabling injuries in the hospitality industry. The proposed rule would create a systematic safety roadmap for hotels to follow such as providing safe equipment and identifying job hazards unique to housekeeping.
Similarly, hotel housekeepers have proposed a bill in the California legislature to require that hotels use fitted sheets and long-handled tools to prevent injury.
"We cannot keep sweeping housekeeper pain and injury under the rug. With common sense solutions like giving housekeepers fitted sheets and mops, we can go a long way toward preventing debilitating injuries. We must take action now," said Maria Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.
With an injury rate nearly double the national rate in 2010 according to a union analysis, current and former Pomona College dining hall employees filed a complaint with Cal/OSHA on April 26. This complaint comes as a result of debilitating injuries sustained in food service work at the college.
As labor and work safety organizations observe Workers’ Memorial Day worldwide, Workers for Justice and UNITE HERE released a new report called “Pain and Fear.” The report discusses the union’s findings of a high incidence rate of injuries to food service workers at Pomona College over the last two years, and the concern that workers are suffering through work-related pain in silence.
In a survey of workers, more than 60% of respondents reported they had not been trained in numerous areas of workplace safety, and only about half of workers who experienced work-related pain indicated that they had reported their pain to supervisors.
Elisea Mendoza, a cashier at Pomona for 18 years, injured her hand while working in July of 2009 but did not immediately report the injury. “I was afraid they would take action against me,” she said. Pain from her injuries has left Elisea unable to work for over a year.
Read the full press release here. For more information and to download the report, visit www.justiceatpomona.org.
On April 18, UNITE HERE members in Columbus, GA ratified a new contract for the more than 900 contracted food service workers at Fort Benning.
With 98% voting in support, the new agreement builds on the landmark 2010 contract in which Fort Benning food service workers won unprecedented improvements in their economic and working conditions, and set a new standard for language guaranteeing dignity and respect on the job for workers who feed our nation’s troops.
Though this year’s negotiations were surrounded by rumors about potential military budget cuts, UNITE HERE members at Fort Benning have been unwavering in their commitment to ensure that their work is valued fairly.
In addition to preserving affordable health benefits and winning an increase of $0.49/hr. in their total compensation, the new contract adds longevity bonuses to honor the many workers who have given long-term service to Fort Benning. A special bonus will go to the more than 100 workers who have been at the base for over 25 years, and additional bonuses will be given to workers as they reach the 20-, 30- and 40-year anniversaries of their employment.
Next week, a group of Fort Benning food service workers will travel to Washington, DC to meet with Congressman John Lewis to discuss ways to minimize the impact of military budget cuts on low-income support workers.
A bargaining unit of more than 400 campus dining workers at Northeastern University have voted to form a union, and will join UNITE HERE Local 26. The workers, who are employees of Chartwells, voted overwhelmingly to join the union on April 12 after several months of organizing.
"This is such an exciting victory for all of us at Northeastern," said Angela Bello. "We’ve come together as a union and stood together as a family and it will change our lives. I am excited for us to have a voice at work and the right to negotiate for a better future. There may still be struggles ahead, but I’m confident we can settle a great first contract because we’re organized."
Northeastern students and faculty showed solidarity with the workers’ organizing drive, with over 40 student organizations forming a coalition called Huskies Organizing with Labor (HOWL) to support the workers’ rights to unionize, fair wages and safe working conditions.
UNITE HERE Local 355, south Florida’s hospitality workers union, is pleased to announce that well over 800 new Marlins Park food service workers have chosen to unionize. Employed through Levy Restaurants, the designated concessions operators, the workers are excited to be union members and are eager to start negotiations.
Jamail Taylor, a food runner at the stadium is one of those workers. "I grew up here. I’ve worked hard and have worked in a stadium before. This time around, we all decided we needed to do more. We have to stick together to make sure we have access to fair wages, job security and that we’re treated with respect."
Wendi Walsh, the President of UNITEHERE Local 355 agreed. "We’re entering a new era in Florida employment. Business and community must stop referring to Florida as a haven for low-wage jobs. Better stadium jobs improve the economy on all levels. Congratulations to all the Marlins food service workers who organized themselves and joined the struggle for all workers in South Florida," she said.
With the addition of Marlins Stadium, UNITE HERE Local 355 now represents over 5,400 casino, hotel, airport concessions and food service workers in South Florida.
For more information, read the full press release here.
(Cambridge, MA) – Over the weekend, Harvard Management Company, which oversees Harvard University’s $32 billion endowment, announced that it would not reinvest in funds managed by HEI Hospitality. Harvard’s endowment has been one of HEI Hospitality’s key sources of funding, having invested a total of at least $70 million in HEI’s hospitality funds.
Harvard is the latest Ivy League school to join a growing trend of universities across the country distancing themselves from the law-breaking private equity hotelier, HEI Hospitality. HEI investors Yale, Princeton, Vanderbilt and Brown universities have all publicly stated they will not reinvest in HEI. Swarthmore and Cornell universities, which do not currently invest in HEI, have also made similar statements. All told, universities which have decided not to reinvest in HEI account for a total of at least $285 million of investments in past HEI funds.
Also last week, workers at the HEI owned and operated Le Meridien Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts publicly joined other HEI workers across the country who are fighting against sweatshop hotel conditions in HEI hotels.
"I’m tired of working in fear. I’m tired of the disrespect from my boss. I’m tired of living paycheck to paycheck and all of the pain,” said Rosa de la Rosa, a 14-year housekeeper at the Le Meridien, Cambridge. “It’s time my voice is heard through the halls of HEI headquarters and any of its partners. My name is Rosa de la Rosa and I am going to fight for a better future for my family.”
“We are very happy to hear of Harvard’s announcement,” said Heather Nichols, a front desk associate at the Le Meridien, Cambridge.
"HEI management needs to know that mistreating workers and breaking the law is not a responsible way to profit.”
Anti-HEI Sentiment Continues to Grow
Students on campuses nationwide have urged their administrations to end investments in HEI by signing petitions, organizing rallies and demonstrations, convincing faculty and members of the Board of Trustees, participating in hunger strikes, collaborating with the larger Occupy movement, among many other efforts. Students led campus campaigns at all the universities which have announced decisions not to reinvest in HEI.
“Any university considering partnering with HEI should realize that investment comes with a risk of labor dispute and campus protest,” said Devi K. Lockwood, a Harvard sophomore. “There’s so much pressure nationwide – Harvard, Yale, Vanderbilt, Princeton and Brown have all ended their future investments – that it seems nonsensical for anyone to invest in HEI.”
Efforts at other university campuses such as the University of Michigan, University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago are escalating. Earlier last week, a forum was held at UND to discuss how the University has failed to justify its investment in HEI through Catholic Social Principles.
"Harvard’s decision is commendable, but this by no means demonstrates that students across the country are going to let their administrations off the hook,” said Michael Gillman, University of Notre Dame law student. “There is nothing responsible or ethical in Notre Dame’s investment in HEI. All the administration has to do is listen to the workers’ stories to make the right decision. If our peer institutions aren’t investing in HEI, why are we?”
HEI Hospitality is expected to begin raising funding later this year for its fourth hospitality fund without addressing the labor problems which have prompted campus protests.
HEI Embroiled in Growing Number of Labor Violations
HEI has now settled or been held liable for 32 wage and hour administrative complaints at the HEI-operated Embassy Suites Irvine for a total of $99,999. Complaints have also been filed at the HEI-owned W Hollywood and Hilton Long Beach hotels. In addition, a former room attendant at the Embassy Suites Irvine recently won a $70,000 settlement in a worker’s compensation case against the hotel.
HEI has also settled multiple charges with the National Labor Relations Board. Complaints issued to HEI by the Office of General Counsel of the NLRB alleged, among other things, that HEI illegally interrogated employees about union activities and threatened employees with losing their employment if they continued to participate in such activities.
The University – HEI Connection
HEI receives over 98% of its funding from some of the nation’s most esteemed universities, including Yale, Harvard, Princeton, University of Chicago, University of Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Dartmouth and the University of Michigan.
Read More here:
450 new members of UNITE HERE Local 5 ratified their first-ever contract at Honolulu Airport HMSHost after a 3-year campaign. This remarkable contract includes wage increases, seniority rights, substantial employer medical contributions, and job security as well as no subcontracting and strong union language.
Over the course of the contract campaign, many HMSHost committee leaders have stepped forward as volunteer organizers to create a self-sustaining, strong union at the Honolulu airport.