Le Meridien and Hyatt Fisherman's Wharf Workers Continue to Call for Fair Treatment as Hotel Companies Come Under Fire for Labor Practices

WHAT: Hotel workers and community supporters rally to commemorate the second anniversary of the struggle for a fair process to choose whether to form a union at HEI’s Le Meridien and the Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf. Concurrent rallies at the two hotels will feature picket lines and remarks from HEI and Hyatt workers and community and religious leaders.

WHO: Workers from HEI’s Le Meridien and Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf hotels, plus hundreds of other hotel workers, religious leaders, and community supporters.

WHEN & WHERE: Thursday, June 17, 2010 at 4:15pm

Hotel Workers Rising Rally & March: There are two rallies: one at HEI’s Le Meridien Hotel (333 Battery Street, San Francisco) and one at Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf (555 North Point Street, San Francisco). Both rallies will start at 4:15pm in front of each hotel.

Press Availability: 4:15 pm at both hotels.

WHY: In June 2008, workers at the Le Meridien Hotel and the Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf petitioned their managers to agree to a fair, “majority sign-up” process that would permit workers to choose whether to form a union in an environment free of harassment and intimidation. Two years on, the owners of these hotels – HEI Hotels and Resorts and Hyatt Hotels — face mounting criticism for their labor practices.

HEI has been investigated by the National Labor Relations Board’s Office of the General Counsel on charges of illegal intimidation and surveillance, and recently settled charges by agreeing to pledge publicly not to engage in such illegal behavior. Hyatt last week held its inaugural shareholder meeting, and was met by protests in several North American cities calling attention to a recent medical study finding that Hyatt housekeepers had the highest injury rates of the hotels studied.

The June 17th rally celebrates the courage and determination of these workers to continue to fight for dignity, respect, and job security.

UNITE HERE! Local 2 is the union of hotel and food service workers in San Francisco and San Mateo Counties. It represents about 13,000 workers in the hospitality industry.