Hundreds to march through downtown to protect affordable Healthcare
Morgan Stanley-owned hotel’s attack on worker health sparks outrage

What: "Oakland Workers Rising" – March to protect healthcare for working families

Where: Rally in front of the Oakland Downtown Marriott, 1001 Broadway, kicks off march at 4.30pm. The march will move to Frank Ogawa Plaza where we will have another rally. The march will then continue on to our final rally on 22nd Street between Webster and Kaiser Place.

When: Thursday, November 19th, 2009. March begins at 4:30pm in front of Oakland Downtown Marriott, 1001 Broadway.

Who: Elected officials, Hundreds of community allies, faith leaders, the Alameda Labor Council, and Hospitality workers from the Oakland Marriott, Downtown Courtyard Marriott, Claremont, Hilton Oakland Airport, and Oakland Coliseum.

Media Visuals and audio: Marching band, hundreds with colorful picket signs on the streets; Advanced interview opportunities in English, Spanish and Mandarin.

Why: In the wake of hundreds of housekeepers walking off the job in San Francisco, over 400 East Bay Hospitality workers and their allies will march through Downtown Oakland in an action to protect affordable healthcare for hard working employees and their families.

Morgan Stanley [NYSE:MS], majority owner of the Claremont Resort and Spa, received $10 Billion in public TARP monies[1] and disclosed last month that it has set aside "$4.96 Billion for its compensation pool for the three months to September"[2]. Yet Pyramid Hotel Group, thei hotel’s management company, has proposed to slash health care coverage and eliminate overtime pay for working class Claremont employees going into the holidays.

Aramark, concessions operator of the Oakland Coliseum and A’s, has proposed a three year wage freeze as well as a cap to their total contribution of health care so that workers are hit with the entire burden of rising health costs. The Downtown Marriott and Courtyard’s management company, Interstate, has proposed to have workers pay hundreds of dollars in medical without raising wages for the first two years of the contract, essentially cutting the amount of money workers have to pay for their rents, mortgages, and children’s college tuition. "These corporations are trying to force workers to choose between their homes and their health insurance. That’s simply immoral, and we are going to stand up for working families and fight back," said Wei-Ling Huber, President of UNITE HERE Local 2850.

UNITE HERE Local 2850 represents over 2,500 hospitality, food service and gaming workers throughout the East Bay, and is the counterpart to San Francisco’s UNITE HERE Local 2.

[1] http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Business/story?id=6479322&page=2 retrieved 11/17/09

[2] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/6400447/Morgan-Stanley-bonus-pool-hits-3bn-despite-91pc-drop-in-profits.html retrieved 11/17/09