Entries by twaechter

San Francisco Sets Nationwide Standard for Hotel Cleaning and Safety with Healthy Buildings Ordinance

For Immediate Release: July 7, 2020 Contact: Ted Waechter / 919-636-1124 / twaechter@unitehere2.org   San Francisco Sets Nationwide Standard for Hotel Cleaning and Safety with Healthy Buildings Ordinance After Disastrous Reopenings in Las Vegas and Florida, UNITE HERE Local 2 Says San Francisco is National Leader on Requiring Hotels to Prioritize Cleaning Over Profits   SAN FRANCISCO – UNITE HERE […]

Fight for the HEROES Act!

The HEROES Act passed the Democratic-controlled House in early May, but Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell threatens to vote the bill down. The HEROES Act among other things: Expands Medicare and Medicaid so workers who loose medical benefits can receive care at no cost. Extends unemployment benefits, including the $600 per week and grants […]

Saturday, June 6: March for #BlackLivesMatter

Tomorrow, UNITE HERE Local 2 will march with other unions for #BlackLivesMatter. If it’s safe for you, please join us at Candlestick Park in SF at 10am. Wear your UNITE HERE and Local 2 gear, and don’t forget a mask. Change happens when we fight together. ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽 What: March for #BlackLivesMatter with Local 2 and our […]

UNITE HERE Statement on the Murder of George Floyd

This is not normal. Except it is. Last week, George Floyd was murdered by an officer of the Minneapolis Police Department, while three additional officers stood by and watched. Yet again, a Black man was targeted and suffocated to death by the people who should, ostensibly, “protect and serve.” UNITE HERE condemns this action and demands […]

Free testing available for SF workers

If you are currently working in a San Francisco hotel, grocery stores, or other workplace, you can now get free COVID-19 testing without a doctor’s note. Click here to visit the City’s website for more details and to schedule an appointment either in South of Market or on the Embarcadero. 

UNITE HERE President D. Taylor on CNN

D. Taylor tells Anderson Cooper of CNN how Unite Here is handling the COVID crisis nationwide. Members of Unite Here from hotels, casinos, and airports have died or been hospitalized. Our national priorities are health and safety, personal protective equipment (PPE), healthcare, and access to unemployment, food banks and help with shelter and evictions. Click […]

Marriott CEO Arne Sorensen, actions speak louder than words!

Marriott Marquis Housekeeper Larrilou Carrumba speaks out about how the health crisis is impacting her family. She had nearly saved up enough money to move her family out of her sister’s crowded apartment into their own home when the coronavirus hit, making that plan impossible in the near future. Meanwhile, Marriott CEO Arne Sorensen broke […]

Airline catering workers deserve affordable health care now!

“This largely hidden workforce, made up primarily of immigrants and people of color, many of whom can’t afford health insurance, is at great risk of contracting the virus.” Airline catering workers are speaking up – because we deserve affordable health care and safety at work. Read the Boston Globe report.

The 1% are once again up to no good

Ten years after the Great Recession of 2008, billionaire’s wealth increased by 80% — leaving the rest of us behind. Now the “pandemic profiteers” are positioned to take similar increases on a much shorter timeline. At least 8 billionaires made another $1 billion since the start of the crisis, and in the same amount of […]

“Life can be pleasant for those isolated in SF hotels”

This weekend, the Chronicle ran a story about how much better life is for unhoused people who are been sheltered in some of San Francisco’s hotels. They interviewed a guest at a union hotel in the South of Market. Click here to read (requires a Chronicle subscription).