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.

Washington, DC-“On Monday, June 20th, Patricia Campos, UNITEHERE’s Legislative Director, participated as a guest in the popular show Washington Journal, hosted by the cable network C-SPAN. Campos discussed the union’s opposition to the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) and responded to questions by callers from all over the United States. Others guests on the show were Christopher Padilla, Assistant US Trade Representative and Tomas Duenas, Costa Rican Ambassador to the US. DR-CAFTA is another bad trade agreement that will destroy more US jobs and do nothing to improve the lives of Central American workers. Congress is expected to vote on the agreement sometime before the 4th of July recess. You can listen to the interview by clicking here.

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.

(Los Angeles) -" Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa, UNITE HERE! Local 11 President Maria Elena Durazo, Mark Liberman of LA INC., hotel workers and general managers conducted a news conference to announce the results of a ratification vote on a new collective bargaining agreement and to end the hotel boycott and invite businesses, conventioneers and tourists to come to Los Angeles.

With help and mediation from Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa, a tentative contract deal was reached last Saturday, morning at 4:55 a.m., five minutes before a scheduled lock-out, ending 14 months of labor turmoil.

Hotel workers voted at the seven luxury hotels yesterday and overwhelmingly ratified the contract with a 98 percent vote in favor of a 2006 contract. Under the deal, "non-tipped" hotel employees will get wage increases totaling 65 cents per hour over a 31-month period ending on Nov. 30, 2006, with some raises retroactive. Housekeepers, bellhops, servers, pbx operators, among other workers will keep current employee benefits and free healthcare will be maintained under the agreement.

The contract will end in the same year as contracts with hotels in other major cities like New York City, Boston, Chicago, Toronto, Sacramento, Monterey, and Honolulu.

"The workers fought very hard for the past 14 months, because they understood the value of aligning their contract with those of other major cities, as they understood the value of keeping free health care for them and their families," said Durazo.

In the meantime, the $1 million dollar settlement of unfair labor practices includes:

– Repayment of the $40 monthly co-pays, which workers were forced to pay to keep their health benefits, (with 10 percent interest).

– Payment to the workers health and welfare fund (More than half a million dollars)

– Covering the expenses of the workers who lost health care coverage and currently owe medical bills

However, the settlement does not cover the unfair labor practices of four employees that were discharged as a result of the labor dispute, -�we will allow the NLRB to decide on those cases,-� said Tom Walsh Secretary-"Treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 11. The cases are still under investigation.

As a result of the agreement, the union has called-off the boycott and joined the mayor and the hotel employers council in inviting meeting planers and tourist back to Los Angeles.

The contract covers 2500 housekeepers, bellmen, front desk workers, banquet servers, cooks and other workers at these hotels: Hyatt West Hollywood, Westin Bonaventure, Sheraton Universal, Regent Beverly Wilshire, the Westin Century Plaza, the Wilshire Grand, and the Millennium Biltmore.

For more than a year, Angelica and UNITE HERE have been engaged in a dispute over the best way to provide free choice to Angelica’s non-union employees in deciding whether they wish to join the union. But under a new agreement with the company announced on June 14, employees at Angelica’s non-union facilities will have a fair selection process through which they may choose whether they wish to have UNITE HERE as their exclusive bargaining representative. The union is expected to soon initiate organizing efforts at the company’s non-union facilities under the terms of this agreement.

In connection with this agreement, the company and the union have negotiated new, tentative collective bargaining agreements covering those facilities where existing bargaining agreements had expired. These facilities include the company’s laundry plants in Antioch, Fresno and Sacramento, California; Batavia, New York; Tampa, Florida; and Dallas and Wichita Falls, Texas.

The settlement agreement is subject to employees at each of these plants voting to ratify the collective bargaining agreements.

After over a year and half of picket lines and an intense boycott at the Hotel del Coronado, UNITE HERE! Local 30 and the hotel manager KSL Resorts have reached a tentative settlement agreement covering 900 members in San Diego, CA. The agreement came just after midnight, last Saturday. Workers lost their previous contract and were forced to reapply for their jobs when the hotel was sold in December 2003 to a CNL Hotels & Resorts and KSL Resorts partnership. -�It’s been a long, hard fight. Members held the line throughout and will be very pleased with the settlement,-� said Jef Eatchel, Secretary Treasurer of Local 30.

Workers will vote on ratification shortly. Highlights include:

• Rehiring workers who were not rehired after the sale
• Full restoration of seniority rights lost when the hotel was sold
• Recognition and inclusion in the contract of 3 newly organized departments
• Phasing out a two-tiered categorization for new hires imposed with the hotel sale
• Healthcare and pension improvements
• Workload protections for housekeepers
• Wage increases for all departments
• Binding successorship language in the event the hotel is sold

Chicago, IL-"This Tuesday, hundreds of protestors showed their support for striking hotel workers at the Congress Plaza Hotel in downtown Chicago. An energetic, determined group of union workers marched the picket line outside the Congress, commemorating the two-year anniversary of the day Local 1 workers went on strike. The labor dispute has sparked large protests and even some arrests since its start in June 2003, when workers had walked off their jobs over a seven-percent pay cut.

(Los Angeles) -" At 5:00 AM today, Los Angeles Mayor Elect Antonio Villaraigosa called a press conference to announce a tentative agreement between UNITE HERE Local 11 and the Los Angeles Hotel Employers Council. The last minute deal came just in time to call off a scheduled lockout of 2500 hotel workers from seven of the cities’ most famous hotels.

-�I am happy to say that cooler heads have prevailed, and we have arrived at an agreement and avoided a lockout,-� said Mayor-Elect Villaraigosa. -�Now we can work together to start bringing tourists and conventions back to Los Angeles. Today, we are saying to the world -�Welcome to Los Angeles.’-�

-�I feel very emotional because I woke up at 3 am in the morning expecting to be locked out, but at about 4:30 we got the great news that we won,-� says Maribel Barrenchea, a housekeeper at the Bonaventure, for 8 years, -�At first I couldn’t believe, but now we are celebrating. Somebody pinch me!-�

-�I am so grateful to the other workers, the city council members, and the new mayor and others in the community stood by us when we went on strike. Together we won,-� says Morena Hernandez a Hyatt West Hollywood housekeeper.

The tentative agreement is subject to ratification by the workers. Key agreements include a $.65 wage increase over the life of the contract, maintenance of free family health care benefits, and a new provision which will allow workers to use sick time to deal with family issues. Workers will get some of their raise retroactively, and the agreement will expire in November of 2006. Workers will vote on ratification early next week.

The contract covers 2500 housekeepers, bellmen, front desk workers, banquet servers, cooks and other workers at these hotels: Hyatt West Hollywood, Westin Bonaventure, Sheraton Universal, Regent Beverly Wilshire, the Westin Century Plaza, the Wilshire Grand, and the Millennium Biltmore.

-�This is a wonderful day in Los Angeles. Good jobs and benefits make strong families and communities, and thanks to our new mayor, our members and the Employers Council, we are creating a better Los Angeles,-� says Maria Elena Durazo, President of UNITE HERE Local 11. -�Because of this agreement, both local workers and the visitors who fill the hotels and count on their service will get what they need.-�

For more information, or to arrange an interview, please contact Amanda Cooper (917-533-4050) or Hilda Delgado (213-276-3375).