Toronto, ON–On Tuesday, August 23, UNITE HERE President/Hospitality Industry John Wilhelm joined Toronto area hotel workers at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel to demand fairness for hotel workers and safe working conditions for room attendants. Major hotel corporations are in a "bed war" in hotel rooms across North America with bigger mattresses, heavy duvets, more pillows and more amenities. Unsafe increases in work, combined with heavy lifting and strain means room attendants are increasingly reporting symptoms of numbness, stiffness, swelling, and burning pain as a result of their work. Room attendants at the Royal York are required to clean 16 rooms per day. "Hotel corporations compete with each other for the most luxurious bed, but it’s the room attendants who are paying the price in work-related injuries," said Paul Clifford, President, Local 75. "The workload is increasing every year with no end in sight. Repetitive strain injuries are common and on the rise."

"I’ve been a room attendant at the Royal York for over 15 years," said Myrna Stoller. "The work is hard–there is a lot of lifting, bending and strain on my body. To get by, I often take pain medication because of my arm and back. So many of us feel the pain. That’s why we are fighting back." Workers at the Fairmont Royal York are currently in contract negotiations. On January 31, 2006, 4,000 workers at 23 Toronto hotels will also be in contract negotiations with major hotel corporations.

On August 4th, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ Finance Committee unanimously recommended passage of the strongest anti-sweatshop law in the United States. The ordinance, cosponsored by Mayor Gavin Newsom and Supervisor Tom Amiano, sets tough, enforceable standards for up $600 million per year in city procurement contracts. Several elements set this ordinance apart from others passed before, including: $100,000 earmarked for both city and independent third party international monitoring; a Sweatfree Community Advisory Committee will weigh in on increasing scope; a sweatfree code of conduct including freedom of association and right to collective bargaining; and, a procurement living wage adjusted by country of production. This victory was made possible by the Sweatfree Bay Area Coalition, more than 50 labor, community and interfaith organizations, anchored by UNITE HERE, Global Exchange, the Chinese Progressive Association and Sweatshop Watch. A supermajority of Supervisors have now cosponsored the legislation, which is scheduled for votes of the full board on August 16th and Sept 16th.

UNITE HERE and Teamster members working in Gate Gourmet in-flight kitchens achieved two important victories recently. On July 1, Gate Gourmet stripped members of health insurance in retaliation for their overwhelming rejection of the company’s contract proposal. Actions in the kitchens forced the Company to back off and Gate Gourmet has agreed to restore health insurance on September 1. Gate Gourmet also agreed to binding arbitration to settle outstanding economic issues in contract negotiations. Arbitration not only provides a better and more efficient process for what have been bitter negotiations, but reduces the odds of a bankruptcy judge ruling on our issues.

San Francisco, CA-"On July 1, a manager at San Francisco’s Mark Hopkins Hotel directed five housekeeping department employees and members of UNITE HERE Local 2 to refrain from speaking Cantonese while they are in the hotel. The workers had been engaged in a private conversation about their work schedules at approximately 7:50 am, prior to beginning their shifts at 8:00 am that day. The manager’s comments were made in earshot of approximately 20 other workers. On July 20, a group of workers courageously spoke out to expose discrimination by management at the Mark Hopkins Hotel and to call for an immediate end to this illegal practice. After their shifts ended, the workers held a press conference at the front entrance of the hotel.

"I was shocked when my manager said that we are not allowed to speak Cantonese at work," said Bi Yi Jiang, a room cleaner at the Mark Hopkins for five years. "Cantonese is the language I feel most comfortable speaking. I am very concerned that if there is an emergency in the hotel and we cannot speak in our native language, the workers and the hotel guests could be in danger."

The management’s action is illegal, and a violation of the collective bargaining agreement between the Mark Hopkins Hotel and UNITE HERE Local 2. Local 2 has filed a grievance against the hotel and has also filed complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Commission and the San Francisco Human Rights Commission.

"This is an issue of concern for all of us," said Bayardo Cespedes, a Mark Hopkins houseman for 25 years. "About a year ago, management tried to stop us from speaking Spanish on the job. We knew it was wrong and we fought against it."

In related news, UNITE HERE, Local 2 will return to the bargaining table to negotiate with the Multi-Employer Group on August 10.

On July 1, Lackmann Culinary Services took over the cafeteria operations from Sodexho at Pace University. While it is common for contractors to change often in the food service industry, this situation was unusual because Lackmann refused to hire current workers and assume the existing union contract with UNITEHERE Local 100. Workers with up to 26 years of service on the Pace campus were suddenly thrown on the street, and Lackmann was threatening to turn decent jobs at Pace into lousy ones.

The sixty workers fought back, spreading their message throughout the Pace Community in lower Manhattan and Westchester by leafleting dozens of events like concerts, forums, and student orientations. They talked to Pace students, faculty, and staff, who were outraged that the long-time workers who had served them for years were being thrown out on the street. Dozens of religious leaders expressed their support by signing an open letter to Lackmann and Pace, and elected officials cancelled events that had been scheduled at Pace and demanded that Lackmann and Pace resolve the situation quickly and fairly. Thanks to the resolve of the Local 100 members and the support of elected officials, clergy, and the university community, Lackmann has agreed with the Union that the cafeteria workers will return to the jobs they have held for years, with their wages and benefits intact, and their union stronger than ever.

Successes of First Year a Model as Labor Debates Future and How to Grow

(New York, NY) -” People in and around the labor movement are wondering how what happens this July at the AFL-CIO convention in Chicago will shape the future of working people. However, labor history was already made in Chicago last July with a merger that has paid real dividends for American workers. In its first year, UNITE HERE has changed to win.

On July 8, 2004, the garment, textile and laundry workers union UNITE merged with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees, and formed UNITE HERE, a union of nearly half a million workers with a commitment to action and growth. Since that merger, the new union has won a series of important victories including strikes and lockouts in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Atlantic City; unprecedented contracts in the laundry and hotel industries; and corporate agreements guaranteeing workers a fair and neutral process by which to decide whether or not to join a union. By the end of 2005, UNITE HERE will have organized more new workers in one year than the two unions had combined in any past years.

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San Francisco hotel workers continue their fight for a fair contract with delegations, picket lines and demonstrations. On June 9, 750 people turned out for a march through the streets of San Francisco stopping along the way to picket at three South of Market hotels: the Four Seasons, the Argent and the Palace.

The MEG hotel boycott continues to grow and gain new allies. Several large conferences have expressed their desire to support the hotel workers. In early June, the 5,000 member strong American Anthropological Association, which has scheduled it’s 2006 conference at the San Francisco Hilton and is expected to spend $1.5 million on hotel rooms, voted to explore alternative venues. In addition, the American Political Science Association and the American Education Research Association are considering having their meetings at non-MEG hotels. UNITE HERE continues to contact a large range of groups including other academic associations, businesses, non-profits and other unions that are likely to support the workers’ cause to ask them to honor the MEG boycott.

San Francisco MEG hotels now face increased competition from Los Angeles where Local 11 members recently settled a new union contract with L.A. hotel operators. The impact of the success of the boycott is evident in hotel occupancy rates. As the hotel industry continues to rebound since the September 11 attacks, neighboring cities in the East Bay and San Jose are seeing much larger hotel occupancy rate increases than San Francisco.

San Francisco, CA-“Earlier this week, Mayor Gavin Newsom and Supervisor Tom Ammiano held a press conference to introduce anti-sweatshop legislation that, if passed by the board, will become the strongest sweatshop-free legislation and a model that can be adopted by cities throughout the country. Over the past six months, a coalition of 50 labor, faith-based, student and community groups, encouraged and worked with San Francisco government officials to ensure that the hundreds of millions of tax dollars spent annually–whether on fireman’s uniforms, computers for city offices or food in city hospitals–are not supporting sweatshops. –

Philadelphia, PA -" In a unanimous decision, members of UNITE HERE Local 274 ratified their new three-year collective bargaining agreement between the union and the Holiday Inn Stadium on Thursday, June 16, 2005. The union membership was pleased with additions to the contract, including new healthcare benefits for spouses and dependents. The UNITE HERE Philadelphia Joint Board Manager, Lynne Fox, was the union’s chief negotiator. The union and employer bargained for eight months, with health care the focal point for the union. In addition to the expanded health care, the union made significant gains in pension contributions as well as the ability to participate in the union’s 401(k) plan.

Approximately 84 new members will be joining the UNITE HERE Mid-Atlantic Regional Joint Board, following a hard-fought struggle waged by workers with laundry company Linens of the Week. Card check neutrality had been negotiated into the Linens of the Week contract in Washington, D.C. in 2002-2003. Therefore, when the Company decided to open a new plant in Colonial Heights, VA, the existing contract language and the efforts of the Laundry Division within the Region enabled these new laundry workers to be organized. Workers will form a negotiating committee and bargaining is expected to begin shortly.