OPPOSE the attempt to lower the minimum wage for hospitality workers in Washington.

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“Three bills in the state legislature, all sponsored by Republican Rep. Cary Condotta (R-12) would collectively result in a lower state minimum wage. […] House Bill 2497 would allow employers to pay workers who receive tips wages as low as $7.25 an hour, the current federal minimum.” (Source: Publicola) This could mean a pay cut of almost two dollars for many hospitality workers in our state. Help us defeat this proposal to cut wages at the worst possible time, in the midst of an economic crisis for working families. Here’s what you can do:

Public Hearing on Tuesday, January 31st in Olympia

Come to the Public Hearing in Olympia to testify against House Bill 2497 on Tuesday, January 31st at 10am

Call your State Representative on the Labor Committee

Call your State Representative on the House Labor Committee. For a list of phone numbers and email addresses, click here: http://www.leg.wa.gov/House/Committees/LWD/Pages/MembersStaff.aspx

Like us on Facebook to stay connected and get updates on the issue

http://www.facebook.com/Local8

Read more

Here & here

Airport Workers stand up to Port of Seattle – Don’t give Anti-Union lawyer a say in deciding our future!

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January 24, 2011

50 UNITE HERE Local 8 members working at SeaTac Airport were joined today by retail workers, janitors, passenger service workers and supporters from the labor and faith community to send a strong message to the Port of Seattle that they will not sit by while the Port puts their jobs at risk.

To develop a concessions program at the airport that benefits workers, businesses and the Port of Seattle alike, a balanced approach is needed. Airport workers are proposing a sustainable concessions model that creates quality jobs allowing families to thrive while businesses are successful and the Port of Seattle’s financial interests are protected.

Unfortunately, the Port of Seattle has been unwilling to make any meaningful movement on the issue of workforce stability and job security for airport workers in the past year. Instead, hospitality, retail and janitorial workers were shocked to find out that the Port Commission had hired anti-union attorney Mark Hutcheson as outside legal counsel to advise them on the future of workers at SeaTac Airport.

We are proud to have UFCW Local 21, SEIU Local 6, Faith Action Network, Teamsters Locals 117 & 174, the Martin Luther King County Labor Council, the King County Building Trades Council, Puget Sound Sage and Working Washington and many others stand with us in solidarity fighting for the future of our community at SeaTac Airport.

Many Battles, One Fight!

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UNITE HERE Local 8 members have been in negotiations with the Edgewater, the Space Needle and the Seattle Hilton for many months. At all three places, the workers are fighting for their job security, and their union.  In this economic climate, workers need to know they can’t be thrown under the bus at any moment. Our struggle is more than a series of contract negotiations, it is a vision for Seattle tourism that includes a middle class life for local workers. It is a city-wide fight, with many battles.

You can help. Here’s how:

Solidarity with Edgewater workers: Thursday 4pm to 5pm!

Join Edgewater workers as they rally in front of their own hotel to demand a fair contract that includes job security.

Edgewater Hotel (Alaskan Way and Wall Street)

4pm to 5pm

*

Seattle Hilton Boycott Support!

Join us for daily pickets highlighting the ongoing boycott of the Seattle Hilton.

6th Avenue and University Street

Fridays: 4:00pm to 5:0pm

Most Other Days: 7am to 8am

*Dates and times may vary. Contact Anita Nath [email protected] for more details!

Plus: Check out our community delegation video to the Hilton Seattle owner, the R.C. Hedreen Company!

And Stay Tuned for more actions!

Call to Action! Monday, January 16 at 3pm

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The Hilton Seattle is entertaining prospective buyers right now, and union workers are in danger of being replaced with poverty-wage jobs.

PROTEST AGAINST POVERTY JOBS: HILTON SEATTLE

Monday, January 16th at 3pm (After the MLK Day March)

Hilton Seattle, 6th and University

“To end humiliation was a start, but to end poverty is a bigger task.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Join us to send a message to the Seattle Hilton and the R.C. Hedreen Company that Seattle won’t stand for the erosion of middle class jobs, and honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s revolutionary spirit.

BACKGROUND

Since October 20th, the Seattle Hilton has been under BOYCOTT until they agree to protect workers’ jobs when the hotel is sold.

The sale of the Hilton Seattle is now imminent. The R.C. Hedreen Company (which owns the Hilton Seattle) stands to make an enormous profit on the backs of their workers who have dedicated their lives to the hotel. Most of them are people of color, immigrants, and women who could be left out in the cold.

“We could be fired any day when the hotel is sold, and replaced with minimum-wage workers,” says Chuck Cruise, a second-generation bellman at the Seattle Hilton with over 20 years experience. “They have the power to save our jobs as a condition of sale, all we’re asking is that they use that power to take care of their workers. We’ve given them years of loyal service.”

Join us on Monday to send a message to the Seattle Hilton and the R.C. Hedreen Company that Seattle won’t stand for the erosion of middle class jobs, and honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s revolutionary spirit.

Dr. King considered the growth of unions as central to the advancement of civil rights in the United States. His “Poor People’s Campaign” focused on economic injustice faced by all working people. “To end humiliation was a start,” he declared, “but to end poverty is a bigger task.” Dr. King partnered with labor unions to advance living wage jobs and dignity at the workplace, and ultimately lost his life during the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike in 1968. We honor Dr. King’s memory by learning about and supporting labor struggles today.

See you Monday at 3pm!

Rally!

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The Edgewater Hotel

WALL STREET and Alaskan Way

Rally!

Monday, December 19th

4pm – 5pm

Featuring “A Tale of Two Christmases”

Families Welcome!

What do hotel workers want for the Holidays?

  • Job Security
  • Livable Wages
  • Benefits
  • Safe Workloads
  • Dignity
  • JUSTICE!

Background:

Two weeks ago UNITE HERE Local 8 reached a tentative agreement with the Westin Seattle! That agreement includes a guarantee from the owner that Westin workers will keep their jobs even if the hotel is sold. The agreement also includes wage and benefit increases, higher shift minimums, and workload reductions for housekeepers.

It’s a great victory for Seattle, and we could not have done this without community support. The continued pressure had a major impact, and gave great moral support for the workers to hold firm until a favorable settlement was reached.

But we can’t rest until ALL hotels in Seattle have good union standards. As we continue the boycott at the Seattle Hilton until they guarantee job security, we are putting the spotlight on the Edgewater Hotel to demand a fair contract there as well.

The Westin victory shows that when we fight, we win!

Join us at the Edgewater on Monday, December 19th at 4pm to fight for justice in the hospitality industry!


SeaTac Hospitality Workers Clinch Victory for a “99%” City Council

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Biggest Electoral Shift in SeaTac City Council History

SEATAC –  On November 29,2011, the King County Elections Office declared Mia Gregerson the winner in a hotly contested race for SeaTac city council.  The race solidified a victory for progressives in SeaTac, after the landslide victories of Dave Bush and Barry Ladenburg over their conservative opponents earlier this month.

Hospitality workers knocked on over 25,000 doors in support of Gregerson, Bush, and Ladenburg, contrasting the government services and progressive policies that they support with the limited government favored by the opposing candidates.

“We won these elections by having one-on-one conversations with voters about our city,” said Yancai Chen, a SeaTac resident and worker at Gate Gourmet, a food service company based at SeaTac Airport.  “We made real connections with thousands of voters who wanted to see the SeaTac city council focus on issues that matter to working families.  I am so proud of motivating so many voters to take action and determine the future of our city.”

The hospitality workers’ get out the vote efforts significantly increased turnout in SeaTac.  The intensive field campaign involved workers from SeaTac Airport, Hilton SeaTac and SeaTac Doubletree speaking directly to voters from September through November, mostly by doorbelling. Gregerson won the election by just 31 votes, 2317 to 2286.  Longtime incumbent Gene Fisher was handily defeated by challenger Barry Ladenburg 65% to 35%.

“SeaTac is developing rapidly with a thriving hospitality industry, light rail, and the airport,” says Erik Van Rossum, Secretary-Treasure of UNITE HERE Local 8, the hospitality workers union. “With this election the voters have sent a strong message that they want concerns of people, not corporations, to be foremost in the city’s development.”

UNITE HERE Local 8 represents approximately 4,000 workers in Seattle’s hotel and tourism industry and approximately 1,500 workers in the city of SeaTac. For more information visit www.unitehere8.org.