Posts September 29, 2005
As a result of escalating workload and duties, room attendants at the Fairmont Royal York report being unable to take their breaks. On Thursday September 22, all room attendants took their breaks at the same time and room attendants held rallies in the staff cafeteria to educate other departments about the unbearable workload. As a […]
Posts October 6, 2005
At over 40 campuses across the United States, students are demanding that their colleges and universities take the next step in ending sweatshops. The United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) has developed the New Sweatfree Campaign, which demands that all collegiate apparel brands source from good factories, where workers have a legitimate, representative union or other […]
Posts October 6, 2005
Chicago, IL–On September 21, hundreds of hotel members of UNITE HERE Local 1 in Chicago voted overwhelmingly to increase their strike fund contributions an extra $10 a month. The extra contribution will stay in effect until the 2006 contract is settled. "We’ve got to get ready to fight," said Margarita Arellano, a room attendant at […]
Posts October 13, 2005
Madison, WI-"At the Common Council meeting of October 11, a new ordinance creating humane standards for city garment purchases was adopted unanimously. The new policy requires that apparel purchases by the city, like uniforms for police, fire and parks departments, be made in conditions that respect the economic dignity and human rights of workers, including […]
Posts October 19, 2005
Chicago, IL–HMS Host workers at one of the nation’s largest and busiest airports, O’Hare International Airport, will picket this week to inform the public about the poverty wages and poor benefits they receive as employees. "I’m trying to save enough money to bring my four-year-old son from Ecuador to live with me," says Ambar Vera, […]
Posts October 19, 2005
Volney, NY–UNITE HERE Local 701T members at Interface Solutions ratified a new contract last Friday. The new contract came almost two months after the company locked out union members when they began picketing the plant following failed contract negotiations. The local had announced that it would file a lawsuit against the company, claiming various violations […]
Posts November 2, 2005
On October 24, we bid goodbye to Rosa Parks, the civil rights leader who became famous when she refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus to a white man, and who helped lead the ensuing civil rights movement. Mrs. Parks worked with the UNITE HERE Civil Rights department on several occasions, […]
Posts November 2, 2005
Los Angeles, CA-"Several hundred Los Angeles hotel workers and their community allies engaged in a spirited march and -�teatro-� at the non-union Glendale Hilton Hotel last week. The teatro, -�Hilton on Trial,-� featured a stylishly dressed -�Paris Hilton-� defending the company against charges that the hotel violated wage and hour laws. In reality, workers at […]
Posts November 10, 2005
Late last week, a coalition of unions, community organizations and faith-based groups in Minneapolis won the nation’s most recent living wage victory when the City Council voted overwhelmingly to strengthen a previous living wage policy. Under the new ordinance, companies with city contracts or city subsidies worth $100,000 or more or those that receive city […]