Author Archives for Ann Kammerer
Coast Hotel workers across British Columbia who are members of UNITE HERE Local 40 are celebrating a historic contract victory today. After months of organizing, mobilizing and hard work at the bargaining table, committee leaders in the Coast Bastion Inn-Nanaimo, Coast Harbourside Victoria, Coast Capri-Kelowna and Coast Inn of the North-Prince George can be proud of a new contract ratified by 99% of their co-workers.
Housekeepers won workload relief language for the first time, including a decreased room quota and room drops for traveling between floors. Banquet workers won gratuity protection (”transparency”) language for the first time in the contract.
All Coast workers won a significant wage increase, a 39% pension contribution increase and improved dental and vision benefits. Coast Hotel workers now have the same extended benefits as the downtown Vancouver hotels.
The Coast Master agreement ratified today covers 500 workers in 4 hotels.
UNITE HERE Local 40 has settled contracts for 3000 workers in 65 hotels and food service operations across British Columbia in the last 2 months.
For more information about Local 40’s important contract victories, go to www.uniteherelocal40.org.
On Wednesday, March 10, 400 members of the UNITE HERE New England Joint Board were joined by community supporters in a rally at HomeGoods in Bloomfield, CT. UNITE HERE members at the HomeGoods distribution center are fighting for a new contract and were joined in solidarity by distribution center workers from across New England who also work for HomeGoods’ parent company, TJX.
To read more, click here.
PLEASANTON, CA–Management at the elite Castlewood Country Club locked out 59 food-beverage and maintenance workers on February 25.
The Club is trying to drive workers into giving up access to medical care for their children by forbidding all 59 cooks, dishwashers, and maintenance workers from working for the last seven consecutive days. That’s a devastating move for these working families. The Club wants workers to pay $739 per month for family healthcare medical–three times the national average.
"I would no longer be able to afford to cover my family on my health care," said Marisol Gil, a banquet server who’s worked at Castlewood for five years. "I fear that because I only work when there are parties, I might not get enough hours to qualify for my own coverage." Most Castlewood workers can’t afford the increase, which comes out to more than 35 percent of a full-time maintenance worker’s gross wages.
Affordable health insurance is the most important factor in employees’ compensation, especially since the average wage is $12.50 an hour. Furthermore, the state of California is slashing funding for public benefits and is considering capping or eliminating the Healthy Families children’s insurance program. If Castlewood workers lose their benefits, they can’t count on a safety net, and their children may go without health care entirely.
Wei Ling Huber, President of Local 2850 states that "the Union has proposed an agreement that would cost not a penny more than the Club’s most recent proposal. But rather than being open to the Union’s suggestion of redirecting the same amount of money towards family health care instead of wages, the Company has chosen to lock the workers out in an effort to starve them into submitting to management’s own view."
Through their union, UniteHere Local 2850, workers have been negotiating with the company since September 2009 and have offered management a reasonable contract proposal that would, according to Local 2850’s calculations, reduce labor costs for the company by approximately 8% in the first year, including a one- year wage freeze, an extremely modest wage increase (just 10 cents an hour) for the following year and an increase in worker’s monthly insurance premiums for a cheaper plan with fewer benefits.
The Castlewood Country Club workers have been members of UNITE HERE Local 2850 for over 30 years, and until recently have always had a good, cooperative relationship with the Club. Last year, a new general manager and board president took a totally different approach to labor relations. "This lockout is a hardship. I am a widow and my husband stood up for this country in WWII. This company is trying to scare us. I want to go back, but not without justice." Says Peggy Duthie, a 25 year veteran banquet server.
Visit www.endthelockout.org for more information.
Today, Robert Kidder, a former executive of Fall River Shirt Company, officially opened a new shirt manufacturing company, New England Shirt. The workers at New England Shirt are members of the New England Joint Board of UNITE HERE and have already negotiated a union contract with the company.
At today’s opening, UNITE HERE members proudly showed off the factory and their work to a group attending the official opening including Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan, and Massachusetts Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Joanne Goldstein.
As the U.S. economy struggles to retain and add good jobs, it was exciting news to see a new high-end manufacturing business opening in Fall River. Owner Robert Kidder believes that U.S., European and Japanese consumers are ready to purchase beautiful garments, in a better price range, produced by skilled craftspeople. According to Mr. Kidder, "Massachusetts can be a source for better craft-based, high-skill products. We have a base of experienced manufacturing workers who can attract craft-based employers and craft-conscious customers."
UNITE HERE New England Joint Board Manager Warren Pepicelli added, "This kind of production can provide more jobs per investment dollar than high technology. Our members are proud to be part of this great example of what Massachusetts workers can do."
The recession has put pressure on workers everywhere, but UNITE HERE members are standing together to win strong contracts despite the economic downturn. Over the last month, distribution center workers in Worcester, MA, hotel/casino workers in Puerto Rico, and hotel workers in San Diego, CA, have all ratified strong new contracts.
On Friday, February 5th, a new contract was ratified by UNITE HERE members at the Worcester, MA, TJ Maxx distribution center. Members of the New England Joint Board of UNITE HERE ratified the contract by an 88% margin.
The new TJ Maxx contract came after months of solidarity actions among the 800 Worcester workers as well as actions with distribution center workers in other plants owned by TJX Corporation in the New England Area.
TJ Maxx workers in Worcester won a new contract that stopped mandatory overtime, made improvements in wages and health benefits, and made major improvements in contract language giving distribution center workers a voice on the job.
Puerto Rico Hotel Workers scored a major contract victory at the Caribe Hilton, the Conrad San Juan Condado Plaza, and the El San Juan Hotel and Casino. New union contracts were ratified on Saturday, January 30, 2010, by a combined majority of 97 percent at all three Puerto Rico properties. After the ratification vote, UNITE HERE Local 610 President Felix Mejías commented: "This is obviously a proud and happy day for the membership of our union."
Members of UNITE HERE Local 610 entered into a fight for a new contract nine months ago. At the same time they were fighting for their new contract, UNITE HERE members had to fight back against an attempted raid by SEIU.
The new Puerto Rico hotel contract is a huge victory as every new contract provision represents an improvement for the members. In addition to major economic improvements, most of the fundamental contract provisions relating to the rights of union members and the balance of power between the union and management have been rewritten. Local 610 is now working with its sister unions, Local 6 (New York) and Local 25 (Washington D.C.), to continue building and making improvements.
UNITE HERE Local 30 members recently won a new contract at the Hotel Del Coronado setting a new standard for hotel workers in San Diego. The new contract, the best ever in the history of Local 30 at the iconic Hotel Del, was ratified by over 95% of workers on December 15 and went into effect on Christmas Day.
For over a year, workers at the Hotel Del Coronado fought together for a new contract. The contract fight centered on health care. For years, workers at the Hotel Del faced restrictive eligibility rules that effectively denied access to decent healthcare for hundreds of workers. With the new contract, the Hotel Del will decrease limits on healthcare eligibility and increase funding for health care so that all Hotel Del workers and their families can enjoy decent healthcare coverage.
The new contract also includes greatly improved housekeeping workloads, job security language and organizing rights for non-union workers at the hotel. Hotel Del staff that rely on tips for their income won large increases in their share of banquet gratuities. Wages for Hotel Del housekeepers will rise to $15.25 per hour by the end of contract, setting a great new standard for the rest of the hotel industry in San Diego.
"This contract shows that when workers are united we can win good contracts even in tough times," said Alberto Lopez, a 20 year banquet server at the Hotel Del Coronado. "By setting strong standards in wages and healthcare it is a victory not just for Hotel Del workers, but for all hotel workers in San Diego."
In President’s Day address, leaders call on Disney Corp. to provide affordable healthcare for its hotel workers
CA Speaker-Elect John A. Pérez, CA Assembly Member Jose Solorio, and other elected leaders showed support for hunger-striking Disney hotel workers on Monday by calling on the Walt Disney Corporation to continue to provide affordable healthcare for its workers.
Various elected officials visited the fasters, who for six days have slept in tents outside the Grand Californian Hotel in Anaheim and refused food. Workers in the Disneyland hotels took on the fast in a spiritual attempt to communicate their health and safety needs with their employer.
"I’m proud to stand with you today in this fight," Pérez said. "I am optimistic and hopeful that the workers and Disney can find a solution to provide affordable, on-going healthcare for the workers here today."
Addressing the fasters, Gloria Romero, a State Senator from East Los Angeles, questioned Disney’s assertion that it doesn’t have the money to continue to provide affordable healthcare.
"Disneyland is going to expand its parks by $1 billion next year," Romero said. "I don’t believe Disney when they say they don’t have the money to pay working mothers, but they have a billion dollars to put into fantasies in California Adventure."
Romero also congratulated the fasters’ determination to stand up for justice.
"We should always believe in the magic, and the magic begins with the workers themselves," Romero said. "Si se puede!"
Jose Moreno, an Anaheim Unified School board member, urged Disney to realize that its workforce is made up of families in our community, many of which are working in poverty. Moreno maintained that in order for the whole community to be strong, Disney must be a good corporate partner.
"While we see the divestment of our educational system, many say, ‘Well the parents need to step up and do the right thing,’" Moreno said. "Well, I ask the parents of Disney – who themselves have school children, who themselves have worked in our schools, who have seen firsthand the incredible poverty, working poverty, that our families face everyday – that they look into their heart…and change the paradigm of how we see workers. I implore Disney to be a solid community partner; help us invest in our educational system and see workers and their children not as a cost, but as an investment."
Anaheim City Councilwoman Lorri Galloway said she and the other elected officials look to the fasters, who by fighting for justice, become models of leadership.
"You have become those leaders who stand up and sacrifice — sacrifice yourselves, sacrifice your health — for the health of others and for the well-being of others," Galloway said.
Assembly Member Hector De La Torre told fasters that they should not have to choose between the basic rights of a decent salary and fair benefits. Instead, workers deserve both.
"It takes a lot of hard work to create the fantasy here in Disneyland, yet workers are having to sacrifice just to get the basics," De La Torre said. "The Disney Corporation, with its earnings, with its success, the growth that is happening around here, can afford to treat its employees with fairness and respect."
Since workers’ contract expired about two years ago, hotel workers and the company have disagreed over the issue of healthcare. The workers’ struggle to maintain affordable health benefits is central to this disagreement.
Hotel workers want the company to continue contributing to their current healthcare plan, which covers workers and their family members. Over the years workers have forgone significant wage raises in order to maintain their quality, affordable health care. But now Disney is calling for workers to shoulder the costs of an unaffordable monthly premium. For the majority of workers whom Disney pays around $13 an hour, a monthly premium of $500 for a family of four is unaffordable.
For more information, please visit www.disneyisunfaithful.org
Disneyland Hotel Workers announced Thursday that they plan to engage in a water-only fast starting on Feb. 9, 2010.
Workers say they are fasting because of concerns about health and safety at work. While more than 2,000 hotel workers have been without the protection of a contract, workload and managerial pressure has increased and staffing levels have decreased. Workers have also experienced health problems including heart attack, stroke and musculoskeletal injuries at work.
"We’re fighting for our health," said Narciso Guevara, houseman at the Grand Californian Hotel, who plans to fast. "We need better, safer conditions on the job, healthcare we can afford, and even more importantly, we need the company to respect us."
During the fast, 8 Disneyland hotel workers, two LAX food service employees, who are also UniteHere Local 11 members, and one adult son of a Disneyland Hotel worker will refrain from eating. Fasters will consume only water. For the duration of the fast, participants will remain, 24-hours a day, in front of the Grand Californian Hotel, sleeping in tents on the sidewalk and surrounded by a large shrine to injured workers.
Part of the shrine will pay tribute to Grand Californian housekeeper Rosario Casas, who is out of work on disability after suffering a heart attack on the job in October. Casas survived. Casas said her doctor said the heart attack was due to stress.
Maria Navarro, a housekeeper at the Grand Californian, who injured herself just three days after Disney remodeled its Grand Californian Hotel and introduced new, longer sheets, bigger pillows and heavier duvet covers, said she is fasting to bring attention to the injuries she and several of her co-workers have suffered.
"The managers put a lot of pressure on us," Navarro said. "And since the changes were implemented at the Grand Californian, things have gotten worse. There are many people in my department who are hurt, but work through the pain because they are afraid of losing their jobs. So much pressure creates an unsafe place. We must make it stop."
Remodeled rooms at the three resort hotels and the new villas at the Grand California Hotel have created more work for housekeepers. Longer sheets, thicker mattresses, duvet covers, bigger pillows and longer pillowcases have created more work for housekeepers to complete in the same amount of time. From the strain of the extra work and managerial pressure, some workers have experienced physical injuries including heart attacks, since the work has increased.
"I’m fasting to stand up for my co-workers who have been injured at work," said Kristi Richards, a cashier in the Grand Californian Hotel. "I worked with and knew Musa Sharaf, a cook in the Storytellers Restaurant, who had a heart attack and died while at work. No one knows for sure what caused his heart attack, but what we do know is that we are under a lot of stress, especially cooks like Musa."
Musa Sharaf died on the job in January of 2009 after suffering a heart attack at work. His wife, Basema Sharaf, was present Thursday for the fast announcement and told reporters that her husband would complain of a lot of stress at work, especially in the last year of his life after cutbacks in staffing. She said he would arrive at work one hour early everyday, and work unpaid, just to be able to serve customers and get his work done.
"He never took his morning breaks because the work he had to do was beyond his capacity," said Basema Sharaf. "He came home extremely tired from work everyday and for years, my husband often said they needed more staff in the kitchen."
Throughout the fast, community and religious leaders, unions, musicians, students and residents will call on Disney to address the health and safety issues at the hotels to by participating in daily actions, rallies and concerts.
For more information on daily events and profiles of the fasters, please visit www.disneyisunfaithful.org/work-shouldnt-hurt.
Last August workers at the Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Washington County Pennsylvania organized and won their union when over 80% chose to join UNITE HERE. Led by a strong and committed negotiating committee, these workers are now celebrating the ratification of an outstanding first contract.
To prepare for negotiations the committee surveyed hundreds of their coworkers, and held large and small department meetings in the employee dining room.
"We wanted everyone to have a chance to get involved and to know what was going on," said committee leader and EVS worker Sam Doman "By the time we went into negotiations we knew what was important to our coworkers, what they needed in the contact."
The outstanding three-year agreement, which covers 500 workers, achieves all of the committee’s goals.
Being part of a national union of gaming workers is also important to the committee. Committee leader Linda Franell, a cashier in the food court, said, "It matters that our union is UNITE HERE. Being in the same union with gaming workers across the country gives us power to support each other."
The Meadows is located 30 minutes outside of Pittsburgh.
The recent earthquake in Haiti has affected thousands of Haitian and Haitian-American UNITE HERE members across the country. To supplement the crucial day-to-day assistance that UNITE HERE affiliates are providing to their members, we have established the UNITE HERE Relief Fund. We encourage UNITE HERE members and affiliates to contribute to the fund, which will be used to provide aid and comfort to our union brothers and sisters who have been directly affected by this tragedy.
Please send contributions by mail to:
The UNITE HERE Relief Fund
275 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10001
Please also consider a donation to organizations working in Haiti now:
Additionally,
- You can also donate to the Red Cross by texting ‘HAITI’ to 90999. The $10 donation will appear on your next phone bill.