On November 10th, hotel workers in the nation’s capital, members of UNITE HERE Local 25, held a rally and march declaring that workers will not accept recession-era standards. Hundreds of workers rallied at Farragut Square and then marched through downtown Washington, DC.

Over 4,500 hotel workers have been bargaining with Hilton, Marriott, Starwood, Hyatt and other members of the Hotel Association of Washington since early August, but have yet to reach a new agreement. UNITE HERE Local 25 members continue to work under a temporary extension of the current collective bargaining agreement that expires on March 15, 2011.



Despite returning to their pre-recession profitability and occupancy levels, hotel management is insisting that workers accept a recessionary contract. Management has made several contract proposals that would trigger increases in workload to staff levels already stretched thin. Management’s package offers no additional contributions to workers’ pension, and a first-year wage increase averaging less than 1% over the first year. Marriott has demanded that a significant number of jobs be outsourced to cheaper "temp" workers who may or may not make a living wage.



Good jobs in the hospitality industry have traditionally provided a path for workers, including many immigrants and women of color, to enter the middle class and retire with dignity. Many of the hotels’ proposals will effectively eliminate that path to the middle class.

"D.C. hotel workers provide excellent guest services for some of the richest and most powerful people in the world yet many of my co-workers work two or three jobs to make ends meet. We deserve a contract that gives us a shot at the American dream," says Elia Velasquez, a housekeeper at the Marriott Wardman Park.

Hotel workers have made significant sacrifices to help their employers remain financially viable during the recession. Even though the hotel industry has rebounded, hotels are attempting to increase profits on the backs of their employees by increasing workloads and cutting staff. "Hospitality workers are professionals and we want guests to have the best experience possible but increasing workloads are making it difficult to provide that great experience for our guests," says Robert Décolin, a banquet houseman at the Capital Hilton.

When addressing the crowd rallying at Farragut Square on Wednesday, Laticha Romeo, a housekeeper at the Madison Hotel, noted, "I’m speaking for all the hotels across the map. I feel the same pain as you. We’re all in this together. This is our way to fight back. We have that right, to be treated equal. So we’re gonna stand together, we’re gonna fight back, and we’re going to get what we deserve!"


UNITE HERE Local 25 represents over 10,000 hospitality workers in D.C., Virginia and Prince George’s County. Local 25 is a member of UNITE HERE, the nation’s largest union of hospitality workers.

Honolulu – UNITE HERE Local 5, the union that represents nearly 1,800 health care workers – employed by Kaiser Permanente at 21 facilities on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island – announced today that it has reached a tentative agreement on a new contract with Kaiser Permanente – Hawaii.

The new three-year agreement will expire on June 30, 2012. Local 5 members will be voting to ratify the agreement through the end of this week.

"We began this campaign 16 months ago and it was tough and scary at times, but what made it work was our comprehensive campaign. We did things as a union that we thought we never could do. We never knew if our limited durations strikes, our public leafleting, or our fighting of issues related to asbestos and subcontracting was going to get this done; but we knew we could count on each other as a union and we knew we had the community and politicians fighting with us," said Cindy Aban, a medical assistant at Kaiser’s Honolulu Clinic.

The new 3-year contract reached between Local 5 and Kaiser includes stronger sub-contracting language, the creation of a labor/management committee that will seek to resolve problems within departments, and maintains current health care benefits and free retiree medical.

TORONTO, ON–On November 8, 2010, UNITE HERE Local 75 members at the Delta Chelsea voted to ratify a new collective agreement as proposed by the company on 7 AM Sunday morning. This victory comes after a 13-day strike and a lockout threat by the company.

The agreement, which was approved by 94% of the 510 workers, includes better protection and job security for union members, no layoffs due to subcontracting, and the inclusion of a TTC pass subsidy by the employer.

Monetary improvements include an 8.5% increase in wages as well as a 24% increase in funding for health benefits and a 36% increase to pension benefit contributions over the four life of the collective agreement. Management has also confirmed in writing that it does not intend to implement customer incentives for declining housekeeping services. The contract included no concessions.

Eula Marcos, a room attendant at the Delta Chelsea, reiterated: "We take this as confirmation that Delta’s so-called ‘green stay program’ will not return to our hotel. This is a job killer."

"It’s unfortunate that hospitality professionals were forced to strike in order to win stable jobs that allow us to provide good service to customers," said Feliz Serrano, who has worked a server at the Delta Chelsea for over 30 years. "With the labour dispute over, we’re going back to do just that. We hope that Delta has a newfound respect for the work we do. This settlement is good for everybody – the hotel, the guests and the community. We had hoped for a negotiated settlement, but we did what we felt we had to do."

After bargaining straight through the night, the union representing over 500 striking Delta Chelsea hotel workers reached a tentative deal with management at 7:00 AM on November 7.

The preceding day, political leaders of the area had called for a truce. Immediately thereafter, the parties bargained well into the morning. The tentative deal averts the continuation of a strike or lockout threat.

The Union, UNITE HERE Local 75, has lifted picket lines pending a vote on the deal. The negotiating committee will recommend the new terms to the Delta Chelsea members tomorrow for a ratification vote.

Details of the agreement and results of the vote will be released following the vote.

"We’ve grown closer together and with hotel workers from all over the city over the last 10 days," said Lynne Hill, a server in the Delta Chelsea’s Monarchs Pub for 34 years. “We are proud of the strength we have shown."

Hyatt Regency Toronto workers called a boycott of their employer on November 4. The boycott is a response to the growing frustration workers have with Hyatt as a result of its unwillingness to bargain a fair collective agreement, and more recently, its decision to suspend the grievance procedure for employees.

UNITE HERE Local 75 members at the Hyatt Regency have been without a collective agreement since January 31, 2010. This boycott follows a series of labour disputes and two one-day strikes during the Toronto International Film Festival. There are sixteen other active Hyatt boycotts across Canada and the US.

"We felt all of our workshop presenters would refuse to attend a conference at a hotel which is undergoing a labour dispute with its employees," said Barry Diacon, President of COUSA. "We have cancelled our conference on October 29 and 30. The Hyatt Regency is in danger of acquiring a dark stigma that will endure long past this round of bargaining with its workers." The Confederation of Ontario University Staff Associations & Unions is an umbrella group of unionized and non-unionized staff organizations at Ontario universities.

"The Hyatt Regency should be bargaining with its workers, not trying to take away their rights and destroy their union," said Sid Ryan, President of the Ontario Federation of Labour, who speaks for one million Ontario workers. "We are standing with the members of Local 75 and urging the hotel to get back to the table; we are requesting customers not to meet, eat or sleep at this hotel until it has done right by the very workers who have been responsible for its prosperity."

"The Hyatt refuses to bargain with us. It refuses to treat us with respect. Now, they are blatantly taking away our rights by stripping us of a fair grievance procedure. And so, we ask you to take away your business from this hotel and refuse to give them your money," said John Sultana, a banquet server at the Hyatt Regency Toronto. "The grievance procedure gives us an orderly way to resolve disagreements with management. It will be much harder to resolve issues without confrontation and disruption now."

UNITE HERE Local 9 members at the Portland Oregon Convention Center, including wait staff, kitchen staff, bartenders and concession stand workers employed by Aramark, won a new contract this month after a nearly year-long campaign.

Workers made progress on the key contract issues of wages, healthcare and gratuities after building a strong committee, holding rallies, delegations and a strike vote. For the first time ever, their contract includes a cap on the amount of gratuities management can keep, and provides for transparency about where gratuity money goes. The contract expands health, and brings considerable wage increases for the lowest paid kitchen and concessions staff.

"I have been working at Aramark for over 9 years. This will be the first time ever I am able to get healthcare coverage," said Anthony Kennedy, Dish Steward.

One year after their contract expired, workers from LSG Sky Chefs kitchens at airports across the country gathered in Minneapolis to call on the company to settle their contract. They demonstrated their unity about negotiating wages nationally, against Sky Chefs’ attempt to divide them city by city.

Workers are gearing up their fight to make progress on wages and healthcare costs after making concessions four years ago to help the company survive.

"Our members are unified from New York to L.A. and all points in between,"said John Munsen from UNITE HERE Local 17 in the Twin Cities. "We’ve got 47 kitchens, and we are all on the same page."

Workers were joined by lawmakers Congressman Keith Ellison and Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN) who signed on to support the workers in their struggle. UNITE HERE represents close to 7,000 Sky Chefs workers nationwide.

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Picket lines went up around the Delta Chelsea at 7 AM on October 27 as hundreds of the hotel’s employees took to the streets. UNITE HERE Local 75 members say the hotel failed to make progress on key issues, including the protection of full-time, stable jobs and hours; safer workloads and economic security. The collective agreement expired in February 2010.

Feliz Serrano, a 30-year server at the Delta Chelsea said: "How long do you have to work at a hotel before you can expect the security of a 40-hour workweek? After 30 years of service to the hotel, I am lucky if I get 30 hours of work each week, and that’s only if I’m willing to work six days in a row. The Delta Chelsea continues to take away our rights to work and have a decent life. We have waited long enough. It’s time we get what we deserve."

The workers reached a strike/lockout deadline last week, and voted 95% to authorize a strike earlier this summer. Employees working for other hotels have staged a successful series of one day strike actions earlier this fall during the G20 Summit and the Toronto International Film Festival, calling attention to the growing divide in the fortunes of hotel companies and hotel workers.

Campus dining workers at DePaul University, members of UNITE HERE Local 1, voted to ratify a new contract on October 21. Their new agreement with Chartwells brings significantly improved wages, affordable family health care benefits, and language that protects immigrant workers.

"Even with all the obstacles that we went through, we stood together, and we got a great contract," said Chanteen Hardaway, a campus dining worker at DePaul.

DePaul students supported the workers with a campus-wide Living Wage campaign.

For more information on the food service industry on college and university campuses, visit the Stir It Up campaign’s website at www.stiritupcampaign.org.

Workers at the Radisson Suite Hotel Toronto Airport struck a picket line at dawn on October 21. The 52 workers have become the ninth group employed at hotels owned or operated by Westmont affiliates to take strike action.

Teresa Torres, a member of the union’s bargaining committee, explained, "we are reaching a boiling point inside the hotel. Workers in this hotel have been asked to do more and more work when I know that business is up, and Westmont could afford to start staffing the hotel properly again. We are tired of working so hard for so little. After all these years, we still make lower wages than other airport hotel workers for doing just as much work." Torres has worked as a houseperson in the hotel’s housekeeping department for 18 years.

The strike follows on the heels of nine one-day strike actions taken by Westmont workers at hotels throughout the GTA during the Toronto International Film Festival. The strikes attracted broad public support, particularly from the film industry, as workers urged large hotel companies like Westmont to share the economic recovery with immigrant families.