Atlantic City, NJ — The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa has announced plans to embark on a $200 million addition — phase one of a $535 million upgrade — that will add approximately 1,500 new jobs in various areas of the casino. UNITE HERE Local 54 President Robert McDevitt believes that this expansion will "create opportunities for members all over the city as jobs open up," and expects that most of the new employees will be restaurant workers in three restaurants and eight dining outlets.

"The casino is known for its very progressive leadership," McDevitt told The Press of Atlantic City. "The average employee at Borgata has a better work environment than members at other casinos in town. It’s not to say they don’t have some problems on occasion, but it is a great place to work. They do well and the employees do quite well in return."

New York, NY-"The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire commemoration is an important way for us to acknowledge the progress of our nation due in large part to the sacrifices that American workers have made. With recent tragedies about workers losing their lives dominating international headlines, this is the time for us to come together to remember the events that defined the start of our nation’s labor movement. In memory of these struggles, we would like you to join us on Friday, March 24 at 12PM for a commemoration of the Triangle Factory Fire, a definitive event in the history of American labor and in the history of New York City’s garment industry.

In an exciting four-city national tour last week, hotel workers and thousands of their supporters kicked off a historic campaign to lift hotel workers and their families out of poverty and help them achieve the American dream. Many prominent politicians were present at each of the cities and pledged to fully support the Hotel Workers Rising campaign. Senator John Edwards, who visited each of the cities during the tour, delivered a strong message of solidarity to hotel workers and promised to work with them to help them attain a better life. In San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom told a crowd of over 2,000 "you cannot live a good life in an unjust society," and called rising income inequality in America "an outrage."

In Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hailed the campaign and the workers’ courage, while actor and activist Danny Glover, who also traveled to each of the cities on the tour, personally met with dozens of hotel workers in each of the cities and called them his "real brothers and sisters."

"If workers have a decent standard of living, they will give back to their communities," said Angela Reid, a non-union Hilton worker who traveled on the Hotel Workers Rising kick-off tour. "Instead of working three jobs, parents can do homework with their kids at night, keep them from joining gangs. Hotel workers, union and non-union, are going to lift each other up."

Click here to learn more about the Hotel Workers Rising campaign.

Now without a labor contract for 2 years and without health insurance for 16 months, a dozen Latino hotel workers in Monterey, California, are locked in a battle with their employer, Kilsoo Seo, who wants to trap them in low-wage, no-benefit jobs.

Seo, an out-of-town owner from Bethel, Alaska, eliminated his workers’ health insurance and pension plans entirely in October 2004. Seo’s actions left his workers to try to get by on the expensive Monterey Peninsula on only $8.84 per hour and left the workers’ 19 children without health insurance.

UNITE HERE has called for a boycott of the Monterey Bay Travelodge to aid the workers’ struggle for a fair contract and the reinstatement of their health insurance plan.

Please support the boycott by sending an email to Kilsoo Seo telling him you will not stay at his Monterey Bay Travelodge until the labor issues are settled.

Hotel workers are uniting across North America to launch a new campaign to raise awareness and build support as they seek to improve their jobs and secure better lives for themselves and their families. Despite working full time at difficult jobs with high injury rates, they still don’t earn a living wage. Hotel workers are uniting across North America to send a message to hotel companies: We are determined to make our jobs safer, middle-class jobs on which we can support our families.

Across the United States and Canada, hotel workers will be asking for support from UNITE HERE members, community leaders and allies to help them improve their lives.

Join Senator John Edwards, Actor/Director Danny Glover, Mayors and other elected officials, UNITE HERE Presidents Bruce Raynor and John Wilhelm, thousands of hotel workers, and other community, union and entertainment figures across North America:

• San Francisco, February 15, 4:30 pmParc 55 Hotel, 55 Cyril Magnin Street
• Los Angeles, February 16, 4:30 pm
  Downtown Sheraton Hotel, 711 South Hope Street
• Chicago, February 17, 4:30 pm
  The Drake Hotel, 140 E. Walton (at Michigan Ave), Ballroom
• Boston, February 18, 11:30 am
  The Ritz-Carlton Boston, 15 Arlington Street,
  Grand Ballroom

Pittston, PA-"More than 900 UNITE HERE workers at the T.J. Maxx Distribution center in Pittston overwhelmingly ratified a new contract this week. Both the union and management had been negotiating since Dec. 22, according to Nancy Hughes, a representative for the Wilkes-Barre office of UNITE HERE.

The union vote on the contract came after the company offered a -�last and final offer,-� Ms. Hughes told The Scranton Times Tribune newspaper. One of the biggest obstacles for the negotiations was over health care benefits. Under the new contract, workers will keep their current health plan.

UNITE HERE will join GSOC/UAW members for a major rally in New York City on Thursday, January 26th at 4PM, in front of NYU’s Bobst Library, 70 Washington Square Park. Please contact Ed Vargas at (212) 265-7000 for further details.

Graduate student workers at New York University (NYU) have been on strike since November 9th, fighting for a union and a fair contract. The graduate students at NYU, through United Auto Workers, won the first contract for graduate assistants at a private university in 2002. But the university is refusing to bargain a second contract, hiding behind the Bush NLRB decision that stripped these workers of their organizing rights. Faced with the massive disruption and pressure of the strike, the NYU administration has resorted to outright threats and intimidation. In spite of the university’s threats, GSOC/UAW members have remained on strike and are determined to win a fair second contract. This strike at NYU has major implications for the efforts of Yale graduate workers to join UNITE HERE. If the University wins, it would set a chilling atmosphere for organizing campaigns around the country.

The UNITE HERE Hotel Workers Rising campaign represents an effort to empower thousands of hotel workers employed in cities across North America as they work to improve their jobs and secure better lives for themselves and their families. In recent decades, the hotel industry has transformed from locally owned and operated businesses, into one that is dominated by multimillion dollar national and international corporations. Hotel companies such as Hilton and Marriott are present in every major city, and employ hundreds of thousands of workers. These workers–largely minority and immigrant women–work hard to create a welcoming home away from home for business travelers and tourists. But still they find it difficult to realize the American Dream. The injuries and pain caused by inhumane workloads, coupled with low wages and reduced healthcare and other benefits, mean that these workers cannot break out of poverty.

But these workers are fighting back! Hotel workers are uniting across North America to send a message to hotel companies: We are determined to make our jobs safer, middle-class jobs on which we can support our families. This year, hotel workers across the United States and Canada will be asking for support from community leaders, union members, and allies to help them improve their lives. Beginning with a campaign kick-off tour of several cities in the United States this February, the Hotel Workers Rising campaign will invite people from all walks of life to join this important movement.

Go to www.hotelworkersrising.org to read recent news coverage, as well as to take action!

Toronto, Ontario-"Employees from York University’s largest cafeteria operator, Sodexho, have voted overwhelmingly to join UNITE HERE. The York University workers are following the lead of workers in other major cafeteria-operating companies at other universities. "Sodexho workers need more dignity on the job," says Courtney Radic, UNITE HERE organizing director. UNITE HERE would like to implement a formal code of conduct to prevent harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Sodexho, along with other major companies, are contracted to offer cafeteria services on campus. Several food outlets are served by a single central kitchen facility to save on costs.

New York, NY–The surviving employees of Windows on the World, the 107th-floor restaurant obliterated in the World Trade Center attacks, opened a restaurant near Ground Zero on January 5, 2006. –