Concessions workers at the San Francisco Giants’ AT&T Park Saturday to authorize a strike. 516 workers voted, approving a strike by 97%. The vote authorizes union leadership to call for any action including up to a five-day strike and a boycott of food and beverage at the park.

“We sent a clear message today to Centerplate and the Giants. 97% gives us the power and authority we need to win a fair contract,” said Billie Feliciano, a concessions worker at Giants games since 1978.

Negotiations are at a standstill between Centerplate – the Giants’ subcontracted concessionaire – and the concession workers’ union, UNITE HERE Local 2. Workers are seeking job security through a successorship clause, along with fair wage increases and improved health care. Centerplate, on the other hand, is proposing to severely limit access to healthcare, and to maintain a wage freeze for the last three years with a 25 cent raise for 2013 as well as another 25 cent raise for 2014.

“Job security is really important to me and my family. I travel two hours to come and serve Giants fans. I really do love my job, but this vote was a landslide. With this vote, I feel confident that we are going to win this contract,” said Anthony Wendlberger.

Visit www.thegiantzero.org for more about the dispute.

To support the concession workers, sign the petition here.

[San Francisco, CA] – Members of the Muslim community, including Imam Zaid Shakir of the Lighthouse Mosque, announce their support of the global boycott of Hyatt hotels in a video that can be found here. They join a growing list of allies who back the Hyatt boycott in response to widespread evidence of harmful working conditions for hotel housekeepers and Hyatt’s practice of subcontracting workers. Many found religious teachings as basis for worker support.

“[Hyatt workers’] rights have been violated, their labor has been exploited, and it’s very important for us to challenge what is going on,” says Imam Shakir.

The video marks a significant step in the right direction of clergy and religious leaders in the Muslim community against the injustices experienced by hotel workers at Hyatt.

“What’s really egregious about the situation with the Hyatt is that here you have a multi-national, worldwide franchise who’s bringing all of their collective muscle to bear against workers who in some instances are barely making a minimum wage,” Imam Shakir adds.

UNITE HERE announced the boycott on July 23, 2012. Since then, the effort to push for the improvement of working conditions and ensure the right of workers to organize has received increasing support from more than 5,000 individuals and organizations, including the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the AFL-CIO, the National Organization of Women (NOW), and Interfaith Worker Justice.

Hyatt has singled itself out as the worst hotel employer in the hotel industry by abusing housekeepers, replacing longtime employees with minimum wage temporary workers, and imposing health-threatening workloads on those who remain.

The video is a call to action to all people of faiths to join in the hotel workers’ boycott of Hyatt.

March 25, 2013

Mayor Ed Lee joins Hilton workers and Hilton General Manager Michael Dunne to announce the 5-year contract.

UNITE HERE Local 2 and Hilton San Francisco Union Square today announced a contract settlement in advance of the August 2013 expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement. The new contract will run from August 14, 2013 through August 13, 2018. Hilton hotel workers ratified the agreement Friday, March 15.

“This new 5 year agreement will guarantee that the largest hotel in San Francisco and the 750 hotel workers will continue to have good paying union jobs,” said San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee. “Thank you to the Hilton San Francisco Union Square and Unite Here Local 2 for coming to this agreement, setting a standard for our City’s hotel industry, keeping San Francisco’s economy vital and supporting working families in the Bay Area.”

“We are pleased to have reached this agreement. It is good for our hotel, our team members and the City of San Francisco,” said Michael Dunne, general manager, Hilton San Francisco Union Square.

The contract settlement improves job security and provides wage increases while securing medical benefits and pensions.

“Hilton has again shown leadership in San Francisco by setting a new standard for our hotel industry,” said Mike Casey, President of UNITE HERE Local 2. “By avoiding the kind of protracted labor disputes we’ve seen in years past, our union can now turn our attention to bringing non-union workers up to the Hilton standard.”

“I’m very pleased with the settlement,” said Guadalupe Chavez, room attendant, Hilton San Francisco Union Square and executive board member of Local 2. “We are happy to know that our health care and wages are secured for the next five years.”

Summary of Settlement Terms between UNITE HERE Local 2 and Hilton

Recent Hotel Contract Negotations in San Francisco

UNITE HERE Local 2 represents 12,000 hospitality and food service workers in San Francisco and San Mateo counties. For more information, visit www.unitehere2.org.

January 14, 2013

Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf Hotel withdrew its appeal to the California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board of citations related to housekeeper injuries and agreed to a settlement that is unprecedented in the hotel industry. The settlement commits Hyatt to take specific steps, including the establishment of a Housekeeping Committee, to prevent exposure to unsafe conditions that cause housekeeper injuries.

“This settlement is a big victory for Hyatt housekeepers,” said Nenita Ibe, who has worked at Hyatt Regency Santa Clara for 10 years.  “Hyatt is being forced to pay attention to the injuries housekeepers get at work.  I’ve seen so many of my co-workers in pain.  Now, Hyatt will have to listen to what housekeepers have to say. Hopefully, Hyatt will make the required changes so housekeepers won’t get hurt on-the-job.”

In November 2011, Cal-OSHA cited the Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf alleging violations of the state’s repetitive motion injury rule.  As part of the government’s in-depth investigation, several housekeepers were interviewed and physically demanding tasks such as bedmaking, bathroom cleaning and pushing heavy carts were observed.

As a result of the settlement, the citation was amended to state that “at and prior to the time of the CalOSHA inspection, Hyatt at Fisherman’s Wharf did not establish, implement and maintain certain elements of an effective Injury Illness Prevention Program with respect to housekeeper job tasks.”  An effective injury prevention program is required under California law, Title 8 CCR 3203(a).

As part of the settlement, Hyatt must:

• Conduct a “job hazard analysis” using ergonomic principles to evaluate housekeeper tasks for unsafe or unhealthy exposures related to musculoskeletal disorders;
• Establish a “Housekeeping Committee” to discuss and make recommendations related to housekeeper safety;  The Committee will include at least 8 employees, half of whom must be non-management housekeepers chosen by their co-workers;
• Provide housekeeper safety training programs on injury reporting and correct use of ergonomic interventions;
• Ensure availability of bed-tucking and long-handled tools and modify current housekeeping carts;
• Explore the feasibility of reducing the difficulty and number of bed-making tucks, and present findings to the government.

Bedmaking tucks are associated with increased mattress lifts, awkward postures and finger and wrists sprains.

Hyatt is required to pay reduced fines of $6,460.

Housekeepers at the hotel joined other Hyatt housekeepers in November 2010 in eight US cities in filing complaints with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) agencies about repetitive motion and other workplace injuries. For the past two years, housekeepers tried to get management at the Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf hotel to address their health and safety concerns.

“This is a groundbreaking settlement if effectively put into place by Hyatt,” said Pamela Vossenas, UNITE HERE health and safety expert.  “Not only does it make clear the need for monitoring ergonomic hazards of housekeeping tasks but it also specifies tools and work practices to reduce housekeeper injuries and secures a voice on the job for housekeepers’ health and safety.”

In May 2012, federal OSHA issued a corporate-level letter to the Hyatt Corporation identifying ergonomic risks that housekeepers face on the job. The first such letter for the hotel industry, it recommends simple steps for the Hyatt Corporation to take such as providing fitted sheets, mops and long handled tools to reduce ergonomic strain.  In 2011, the hotel industry lobbied against state legislation that would make housekeeping work safer by requiring fitted sheets and long handled tools such as mops or similar devices.

UNITE HERE! Local 2, represents 12,000 hospitality and food service workers in San Francisco and San Mateo counties.

For more information visit www.hyatthurts.org and www.unitehere2.org.

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In demonstrations nationwide, workers say “someone like me” will make Hyatt a better company for employees and shareholders alike

 [San Francisco and Santa Clara] Hyatt hotel workers will hold demonstrations today in San Francisco and Santa Clara today, urging Hyatt to add a hotel worker to its board of directors.  In recent years, Hyatt has faced tough criticism for its record of labor abuses. Now housekeepers say they have a simple solution to move Hyatt in a new direction. In events nationwide this week, Hyatt workers are urging the company to add a hotel worker to its board of directors. Workers say Hyatt would be better off if someone who served hotel guests at some point in the last decade actually had a say in how the company is run.

The national week of action began Tuesday at Hyatt headquarters in Chicago, where hotel workers submitted a resolution to the company for consideration by the directors, who are expected to meet on the date of the next shareholders meeting in June 2013.  Hyatt workers in Los Angeles, San Antonio, Baltimore, Phoenix, Honolulu and Seattle are also holding actions this week. 

“I’ve been cleaning rooms and taking care of guests for Hyatt for 37 years,” says Grand Hyatt housekeeper Antonia Cortez.  “I think having someone like me on the board of directors would help Hyatt work better for the company, the customers, and the workers.”

Currently, Hyatt has twelve directors on its board.  The new resolution proposes that a 13^th board member be added from the ranks of Hyatt’s staff. Current board members include Tom and Penny Pritzker of the billionaire Pritzker family, Hyatt’s CEO Mark Hoplamazian, and Greg Penner, an heir to the Walmart fortune, among others.   Penner, who lives in the Bay Area, also sits on the board of Walmart.  Other board members have ties to Goldman Sachs, private equity firms worth billions, and major brands like Royal Caribbean. None of the biographies published by Hyatt of current board members shows any having experience as a hotel worker.

Hyatt has singled itself out as the worst employer in the hotel industry by abusing its housekeepers, replacing longtime employees with minimum wage temporary workers, and imposing health-threatening workloads on those who remain. In a first in the hotel industry, the federal government issued a letter to Hyatt earlier this year, warning the company of hazards their housekeepers face. Workers say that adding someone with recent guest experience to the Board could reshape Hyatt’s staffing policies and improve Hyatt’s image.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors

District 1: Eric Mar

District 3: David Chiu

District 5: Christina Olague

District 7: FX Crowley

District 9: David Campos

District 11: John Avalos

Community College Board

Rafael Mandelman

Natalie Berg

San Francisco Propositions

Save City College! Vote YES on Proposition A

Clean & Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond: Vote YES on Proposition B

Affordable Housing Trust Fund: Vote YES on Proposition C 

 Gross Receipts Tax Measure: Vote YES on Proposition E

Water Sustainability & Environmental Restoration Planning Act: Vote NO on Proposition F

California State Propositions

Temporary Taxes to Fund Education! Vote YES on Proposition 30

State Budget. State and Local Government: Vote NO on Proposition 31

Special Exemptions Act! Vote NO on Proposition 32

Stop the Auto Insurance Surcharge: Vote NO on Proposition 33

Repeal the Death Penalty: Vote YES on Proposition 34

Human Trafficking: Vote YES on Proposition 35

Three Strikes Reform Act: Vote YES on Proposition 36

Label Genetically Engineered Food: Vote YES on Proposition 37

Tax for Education and Early Childhood Programs: Vote NO on Proposition 38

Redistricting for State Senate Districts: Vote YES on Proposition 40

California Legislature

Assembly District 17: Tom Ammiano

Assembly District 19: Phil Ting

Senate District 11: Mark Leno

US Federal Government

House of Representatives District 12: Nancy Pelosi

House of Representatives District 14: Jackie Speier

US Senate: Dianne Feinstein

President: Barack Obama

Indeed, we suspect that ONA’s message to its own members and attendees was largely copied word for word from communications prepared for it by the Hyatt Corporation.  How else would ONA have hit upon the exact same phrasing as other organizations that are violating the Hyatt boycott?  (See below for side by side comparisons.)

George Orwell famously said, “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.”  When did ONA get out of the business of advancing journalism and into the business of doing PR for a multi-national corporation?

Here’s ONA on the question of honoring the boycott:

Will ONA participate in a boycott?

After looking into the matter closely, ONA has determined that participating in a boycott and pulling out of our year-long contract is not an appropriate or viable course of action. Pulling out of a binding contract would have resulted in a six-figure cost — a non-starter for a nonprofit organization such as ours, which relies on the registration and sponsorships that come from our annual conference to provide member benefits and serve our journalism community. While ONA is supportive of the ongoing negotiations process and has communicated with and urged both parties to resolve their issues in a timely manner that is fair to all, it is committed to holding its meeting as planned.

Now here’s the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators in its own “FAQ” about its own conference at a boycotted Hyatt hotel:

Will SCBWI participate in a boycott?

No, not at this time. After looking into the matter closely, SCBWI has determined that participating in a boycott of the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza hotel is not an appropriate or viable course of action. While SCBWI is supportive of the ongoing negotiations process and has communicated with and urged both parties to resolve their issues, it remains committed to hold its conference at the Hyatt Century Plaza from August 3-6th.

Sound familiar?  And here’s the National Association of County & City Health Officials in its “FAQ” about its conference at a boycotted Hyatt hotel:

Will NACCHO participate in a boycott?

No, not at this time. After looking into the matter closely, NACCHO has determined that participating in a boycott of the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza hotel is not an appropriate or viable course of action. While NACCHO is supportive of the ongoing negotiations process and has communicated with and urged both parties to resolve their issues in a timely manner that is fair to all, it is committed to holding its meeting July 11-13, 2012 as planned.

Seems kind of odd that everyone is “looking into the matter closely” and determining the exact same thing with the exact same wording, doesn’t it?

ONA, SBCWI, and NACCHO also used the exact same words to describe the serious issue of worker safety and OSHA citations at Hyatt Hotels across the country.  Hyatt’s response to concerns about the dangers of housekeeping work for Hyatt housekeepers is misleading in the extreme.  OSHA has ways to pursue health and safety issues other than issuing citations, and it has done so by issuing a company-wide letter to Hyatt Hotels, notifying the company of ergonomic risk factors faced by housekeepers in the course of their daily work.  The letter recommends simple steps for Hyatt to take to reduce the ergonomic strains of housekeeping labor.  Importantly, OSHA outlines Hyatt’s responsibility to record injuries of subcontracted workers at its hotels, addressing a loophole that has grown with Hyatt’s aggressive use of contract workers to clean hotel rooms.  Hyatt is the first and only hotel employer to receive such a letter from OSHA.

Here’s ONA:

The Hyatt, in response to UniteHere complaints related to its collective bargaining and organizing agenda, have had the injury records and substantive working conditions of 11 hotels thoroughly reviewed by Federal OSHA, California OSHA and two other State Plans. As a result of Unite Here complaints and substantial review by OSHA, CalOSHA and other State plans, no ergonomic issues or other serious working conditions affecting housekeepers or Hyatt’s other associates have been cited and no corrective actions have been required….

Here’s SCBWI:

In the meantime, The Hyatt, in response to UniteHere! complaints related to their collective bargaining and organizing agenda, have had the injury records and substantive working conditions of eleven hotels, including Century Plaza, thoroughly reviewed by Federal OSHA, California OSHA and two other State Plans. As a result of UniteHere! complaints and substantial review by OSHA, CalOSHA and other State plans, no ergonomic issues or other serious working conditions affecting housekeepers or Hyatt’s other associates have been cited and no corrective actions have been required….

Here’s NACCHO:

In the meantime, The Hyatt, in response to UniteHere! complaints related to their collective bargaining and organizing agenda, have had the injury records and substantive working conditions of eleven hotels, including Century Plaza, thoroughly reviewed by Federal OSHA, California OSHA and two other State Plans. As a result of UniteHere! complaints and substantial review by OSHA, CalOSHA and other State plans, no ergonomic issues or other serious working conditions affecting housekeepers or Hyatt’s other associates have been cited and no corrective actions have been required….

There are more similarities that you can easily see for yourself.  The harder task? Listening to the actual people who make the beds and cook the food and carry the bags at Hyatt hotels in San Francisco and across the country.  ONA leadership chose not to, but we urge you not to repeat their mistakes.

A federal agency charged with enforcing labor law has issued a complaint against the Grand Hyatt Union Square and Hyatt Regency Embarcadero Hotels in San Francisco alleging that Hyatt violated the law when it implemented the E-Verify employment eligibility verification program earlier this year.

Hyatt workers voiced concerns in April 2012 when the two Hyatt hotels posted notices of Hyatt’s enrollment in the E-Verify program.  Under the law, the hotels are required to negotiate changes to terms of employment – including implementation of E-Verify – with the workers’ union.

In the complaint, the Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board seeks an order requiring the two Hyatt Hotels “to provide written notice to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to terminate their enrollment in the E-Verify program.”  A hearing date has been set for October 31, 2012.

E-Verify is a program run by the DHS by which  employers  electronically check the Social Security numbers of newly- hired employees.  Participation in E-Verify is optional.

Francisco Ugarte, an immigration attorney with the San Francisco Immigrant Legal and Education Network, says of the program, “E-Verify is riddled with errors, and there’s no oversight to make sure that the program isn’t used for nefarious reasons.  It’s obvious that employers use immigration enforcement as a tool to keep workers down.”

Hyatt’s decision to use E-Verify is one of several practices that negatively impact its largely immigrant workforce.  Hyatt’s aggressive use of subcontracting allows it to pay housekeepers poverty wages while evading legal liability for unsafe working conditions.  Subcontracting frequently leads to the exploitation of undocumented immigrants who can more easily be abused by employers who do not bear the legal responsibility for their employment.  Hyatt housekeepers, who are almost all immigrant women of color, have heavy workloads that can lead to debilitating pain and injuries.  Hyatt has even fired immigrant women shortly after they have spoken out about abuse and indignities at work.

Numerous immigrant rights organizations have joined the Global Boycott of Hyatt Hotels, including Center for Community Change, Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Asian Law Caucus, and the  Immigrant Rights Commission of the City and County of San Francisco.

Martha Reyes

Next month, when the Online News Association holds its annual conference at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero in San Francisco, you will be asked to cross a union picket line erected by the people who work in the hotel – the housekeepers, bartenders, cooks, desk clerks and the others who make the hotel run. Hyatt workers have been joined by the AFL-CIO, the National Organization of Women, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the NFL Players Association, Netroots Nation, and thousands of other organizations and individuals in calling for a Global Boycott of Hyatt Hotels. The Hyatt Regency San Francisco had been under a worker-called boycott since June 2010, and the organizers of the ONA conference have been aware of the boycott since early this year.

Hyatt has singled itself out as the worst hotel employer in America. Hyatt has abused housekeepers and other hotel workers, replacing longtime employees with minimum wage temporary workers and imposing dangerous workloads on those who remain. Housekeepers, who are almost all immigrant women of color, are particularly impacted by Hyatt’s mistreatment.

The Online News Association is asking you to interact with Hyatt as consumers and to look away when the workers ask you to examine the reality of their situation.  As journalists and working people yourselves, we appeal to you to take a closer look.

Corporina Belis at the launch of the Global Boycott of Hyatt

This boycott is about workers like Martha Reyes, a housekeeper who was fired after objecting to demeaning, fake photos of housekeepers in bikinis that were posted in a Hyatt break room.  Workers like Corporina Belis, a housekeeper at the Hyatt Regency Boston for over 25 years who was fired, along with 97 other long-time Hyatt employees, and replaced by temporary workers earning minimum wage with no benefits. Workers like Nila Arago, a linen attendant at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco for 32 years who can no longer walk without pain.

The leadership of the Online News Association has looked away from these women and the thousands of other Hyatt workers who are organizing for justice. In so doing, ONA has put you in the position of having to choose whether to cross a picket line or attend their conference. But it is not too late. We urge you to call ONA Executive Director Jane McDonnell at 646-290-7900or email her at director@journalists.org and demand that ONA move this conference to a non-boycotted, neutral location.

To join the thousands who have pledged to honor the global boycott of Hyatt, sign the pledge here.

Hyatt has singled itself out as the worst hotel employer in America. Hyatt has abused housekeepers and other hotel workers, replacing longtime employees with minimum wage temporary workers and imposing dangerous workloads on those who remain. In response, Hyatt workers have taken bold steps to end mistreatment, speaking publicly about abuses, going on strike, and now, launching a global boycott of Hyatt

Check out workers and students across North America kicking off the Global Boycott to the tune of Tom Morello’s Union Song.