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Comment by Padraig Yeates on January 6, 2012 at 7:01

Joe

 

Just saw this. Is this a new Hyatt dispute? If so will certainly spread the word this side of the water.

Padraig

Comment by Joe Balkis on January 6, 2012 at 5:47

Healthcare Atrocity: Boycott Hyatt Hotels

After more than two years of contract negotiations, crisis looms as Hyatt threatens to strip health insurance from 1500 Chicago workers and their families unless they give up their fight and abandon their boycotts. In so doing, Hyatt is forcing workers to choose between their families' immediate medical needs and a fight for their long-term survival.

In negotiations, Hyatt has refused to budge on crucial demands to curb subcontracting and ease working conditions for housekeepers -- demands met by Hilton and other hotel employers citywide. In response, Hyatt workers have stood up and made tough sacrifices by striking and calling for hotel boycotts. By some accounts, UNITE HERE's organizing efforts at other Hyatt facilities has also been an issue in the Chicago negotiations.

Hyatt's original threat to discontinue health insurance was to begin January 1. After UNITE HERE Local 1 and Local 450 called a press conference, Hyatt moved the deadline back 60 days. To increase the pressure, UNITE HERE called for an informational picket outside of Hyatt's International HQ on Franklin just west of the Loop on December 15. Several hundred turned out for the late afternoon demonstration. At least 6 DSA members took part. There was also a good turn out from other Chicago unions, including AFSCME and SEIU.

By the time you read this, one hopes this will be resolved. If not, boycott Hyatt hotels. The outcome of this fight will have implications for service sector organizing for years to come, and not just for UNITE HERE. For more information, go to http://www.hotelworkersrising.org . For online activists, there's a link to urge the Hyatt company to do the right thing.

Comment by Padraig Yeates on July 18, 2011 at 7:50

Will do Joe. Unfortunately funds pretty low at moment so it is unlikely I will be abler to stay at Hyatt Hotel any time soon, but I will sprwad the word.

Comment by Joe Balkis on July 17, 2011 at 18:53

UNITE HERE
International Day of Action
Against Hyatt
Thursday, July 21, 7 AM to ?
Park Hyatt, Chicago Ave just west of Michigan Ave, Chicago
Join hundreds of UNITE HERE members and community supporters at the Park Hyatt to protest the chain's reluctance to come to a fair agreement with its employees.
"If left untended, unopposed, the Hyatt hotel chain represents UNITE HERE's worst nightmare: a cancerous spread of the Congress hotel's business model to the industry at large. One of the Congress hotel's demands, and current practice, is to outsource work to labor contractors, turning their employees into 'temps.' The Hyatt hotel chain has been moving toward this practice for a few years now. Sometimes it has been abrupt, as when they fired their entire housekeeping staff at a non-union Boston facility. Sometimes it has been the 'boiling frog' approach of simply not replacing staff and bringing in temps 'as needed.' See www.justiceathyatt.org for more details."
Boycott Hyatt: CLICK HERE for more information.

Comment by Padraig Yeates on February 23, 2011 at 17:44

O'Callaghan Davenport Hotel Strikers threatened with prosecution for littering because they put posts on lamp post outside hotel. Every other lamp post in Dublin festooned with posters - there's a general election on. Litter wardens very apologetic - said the order came 'from the top'.

Comment by Padraig Yeates on February 23, 2011 at 6:49

Eric Thanks for signing up to Support O'Callaghan Davenport Hotel Thanks for joining group Eric - Strikers - the women are Ingrida Balciuniene, Grazyna Ziemer, Raisa Jonaitiene, Jolita Nalusiene, Regina Balciuniene and Greta Paskhusiene. All are Lithuanian except Grazyna, who is Polish. They were getting massive suppoort until Monday when the owners obtained injunction. SIPTU is challenging it in court today - fingers crossed, Padraig