Labor Day Rally for Job Security at Downtown Hilton

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When the Hilton is sold, 100 workers stand to lose their living wage jobs

One hundred Hilton workers, labor activists, and supporters gathered on Labor Day to call for job security at Seattle’s Hilton Hotel. The demonstration was organized in response to the R.C. Hedreen Company’s decision to put the Seattle Hilton up for sale without securing job protections, jeopardizing over 100 hotel jobs currently under union contract.

Ten community supporters, including 2 workers at other Seattle area hotels, were arrested as they blocked the streets to send a message about the importance of job security in the hospitality industry.

Click Here! Check out TV News coverage of the rally!

“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.”

Even in this tough economy, hotels continue to remain profitable through a combination of layoffs, decreased work schedules and increased workloads for staff, burdening a low-wage workforce. According to the industry’s own projections, hotels will be returning to record profits by 2012.

Real estate investment companies are recognizing the renewed profitability of hotels, particularly in Seattle, which is among the top 25 hotel markets in the country with demand at pre-recession levels. Recently, the Seattle’s Red Lion sold for $71 million to Los Angeles-based Lowe Enterprises.

Meanwhile, hotel workers at the Hilton are trying not to get stuck in the permanent recession.

UNITE HERE Local 8 is making waves all over Seattle. You can be a part of the movement for hotel justice. Stay tuned for action alerts over email or “like” us on facebook – www.facebook.com/local8.

Also, check out the recent flash mob at the Westin.

Labor Day Hotel Justice Rally

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Local 8 rally!

Labor Day

September 5th, 4pm to 6pm

Hilton Seattle

6th and University, Downtown Seattle

The Seattle Hilton owners want to sell the hotel. Jobs are at stake.

More background:

This summer, union contracts covering more than 1,400 workers have expired at Seattle-area hotels and restaurants, including the Westin and Downtown Hilton hotels.

Although both the Hilton and the Westin have made some movement toward fair contracts, management negotiators have yet to show any willingness to address the issues of most concern to the workers: job security in the form of successorship language (the Hilton is up for sale) and a guarantee of no subcontracting. Hundreds of unionized living-wage jobs are at stake. [See last week’s Huffington Post report — “As hotels outsource jobs, workers lose hold on living wage” — to learn why this issue is so important.]

With a sale possible at any moment at the Hilton Seattle, we need to act fast to save the jobs of over 100 hospitality workers. If the owners of the Hilton Seattle do not agree to a successorship agreement guaranteeing workers’ jobs by Labor Day, the worker’s committee at the Hilton has authorized UNITE HERE Local 8 to call for a boycott. Click here for more information on how you can support our pre-boycott efforts.

This Labor Day, take a stand for good jobs. You can make a difference!

Flash Mob for Worker Rights Takes Over Westin Lobby!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrRERI4TGAo

A flashmob infiltrates the Westin hotel in Seattle and performs an adaptation of Jessie J.’s song “Pricetag.” The event was organized to draw attention to the struggle for workers at the Westin who are organizing for a fair contract that includes livable wages, job security, safe workloads, and respect on the job, among other issues.

Check out the video and share it with your friends on facebook! Visit http://www.facebook.com/Local8.

Largest picket in SeaTac history backs area hotel workers

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SEATAC (Aug. 5) — An estimated 400 SeaTac hospitality workers and labor supporters gathered Thursday afternoon in front of the DoubleTree Hotel near the SeaTac Airport to call for livable wages, job security, and respect on the job.

This summer, union contracts covering more than 1,400 workers have expired.  The affected businesses include the Hilton and Doubletree Hotels in SeaTac, as well as the Westin, Edgewater, Seattle Hilton, Washington Athletic Club, and Space Needle Restaurant in Seattle.

“When the economy crashed, workers sacrificed along with the hotels,” said Erik Van Rossum, Secretary-Treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 8, the union representing the workers in the campaign. “But now hotels are profitable, and they are trying to keep their workers in a permanent recession.”

During the recession, hotels continued to remain profitable through a combination of layoffs, decreased work schedules and increased workloads for staff. The hotel industry’s own projections now predict record profit levels by next year. Read more…

SeaTac Rally for Hotel Justice! August 4th

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On July 22nd, more than 600 hospitality workers and their supporters rallied in front of the Seattle Westin Hotel, while 150 members gathered in front of the SeaTac Doubletree to demand livable wages, job security, safe working conditions, and respect on the job.

So what are we going to do after pulling off the biggest Downtown Seattle labor rally in recent memory?

The Biggest Rally in SeaTac History!

Thursday, August 4th

4:00pm to 5:30pm

SeaTac Doubletree Hotel

Join us at 4pm on the corner of International Blvd. and S. 188th St.

Hospitality Workers Rally in Seattle and SeaTac

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July 22nd, 2011

More than 600 hotel workers and their supporters  rallied in front of the Westin Hotel in Downtown Seattle this afternoon while 150 people gathered in front of the SeaTac Doubletree to support hotel workers who are fighting for livable wages, job security, safe working conditions, and respect on the job.

Two lanes of 5th Avenue between Stewart St. and Virginia St. were blocked for more than 2 hours as workers from Seattle-area hotels were joined by community supporters and labor groups, including members of AFTRA (the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) who are staying at the Westin as part of their national convention.

This summer, union contracts covering over 1,400 workers have expired.  The affected hotels and restaurants include the Westin, Edgewater, Seattle Hilton, Washington Athletic Club, Space Needle, SeaTac Hilton, and the Doubletree.

Among other key issues, Seattle hotel workers are fighting for job security. “I have given many years, my body, and my soul to this hotel and now I am here to fight for my job. We are going to fight until we have our jobs, our union, and a fair contract,” said Aracely Cerezo García, a hotel housekeeper at the Hilton Seattle.

During the recession, hotels continued to remain profitable through a combination of layoffs, decreased work schedules and increased workloads for staff, burdening its low-wage workforce. According to the industry’s own projections, hotels will be returning to record profit levels by 2012.

“Seattle is a tourism destination, and hotels are recovering from the economic downturn,” says Erik Van Rossum, Secretary-Treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 8. “Will they lift up the workers that kept them in business, or will they keep their workers in a permanent recession? Hotel workers are now mobilizing to ensure they get a fair share of the economic recovery.”

Workers also demand the right to organize free of intimidation and harassment in non-union hotels. “We will not stand by while organizing rights are attacked in Wisconsin and elsewhere. By organizing non-union hotels, we will bring hospitality workers back into the middle class,” Van Rossum added.