Friday, May 11, 2012

2012 has been a year of wars. There’s the War on Women – an intense legislative assault on women’s access to reproductive health care – and the War on Workers – be they public sector workers trying to hold on to their right to bargain collectively or private sector workers staving off subcontracting, outsourcing, and union-busting. The battleground in the War on Immigrants has shifted from Arizona to Alabama and, finally, to the US Supreme Court. The War on Moms was an attempt by Republicans to brand Democrats as hostile to stay-at-home mothers, and the Real War on Moms was an attempt by Democrats to refocus the debate on the disastrous effect that right-wing economic, immigration, and health care policies have on poor and working-class women and their families.

At the nexus of these wars are immigrant women struggling to make a living and raise their families. And the rhetoric of warfare makes it tempting to cast these women as victims. But this Mama’s Day, I want to recognize an incredible group of women who are fighting back – the women who work for Hyatt Hotels.

Let me introduce you to some of these women:

• Nenita Ibe is 69 years old. She lives in a garage with her son. She came to the US from the Philippines 15 years ago, hoping for a job that would help her to support her five children.
• Victoria Guillen came to the US in Peru as a single mother, hoping for a better future for her daughter. She now has another daughter, Cielo, who is two-years old.
• Martha Reyes has five children, and custody of three grandchildren. Her sister, Lorena Reyes, has three children, and is the sole supporter of her family since her husband was laid off.
• Sonia Ordonez came to the US from Nicaragua twenty years ago with a baby in her arms to escape a civil war. She arrived, only to find herself in an abusive marriage. For her own and her two children’s safety, she left her husband, and worked one job by day and another at night to support her family.

All of these women work (or used to work) for Hyatt, as room cleaners, servers, cooks, and dishwashers. All of these women are immigrants and mothers. All of these women have spoken up and demanded better treatment for themselves and their co-workers. And all of these women have been hurt or attacked by the Hyatt Corporation.

Nenita has lost the full use of her right arm after injuring herself making Hyatt’s heavy beds. Victoria was threatened with being fired by Hyatt when she could not return to work a few days after giving birth by Caesarian Section. Martha and Lorena were fired after an objection was made to the posting of demeaning pictures of housekeepers in bikinis on a company bulletin board. Sonia was unjustly fired just a few weeks ago, after sharing her story of Hyatt’s abuses with countless community leaders and even speaking out at Hyatt’s shareholder meeting last year.

In a traditional war, these women and their co-workers would be outgunned and outmatched. Hyatt, after all, is a global corporation controlled by a family of billionaires. Hyatt leads the hotel industry in the abusive practice of subcontracting, which enables it to pay housekeepers poverty wages while evading legal liability for unsafe working conditions. Hyatt housekeeper injury rates are high, and, in a first for the hotel industry, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a letter to Hyatt notifying it of ergonomic risk factors faced by housekeepers in the course of their daily work. Just last month, Hyatt posted E-Verify posters at a non-union Hyatt property in Santa Clara, causing concern among long-term immigrant workers at the hotel. And Hyatt has refused the request of workers across the country that Hyatt accept a fair process to enable them to choose whether or not to join a union without employer intimidation.

But these are strong, immigrant mamas and they’re fighting back! Victoria’s co-workers at the Grand Hyatt in San Francisco took the fight to management and successfully fought for her reinstatement. Victoria has met with dozens of Bay Area organizations to share her story and galvanize support for Hyatt workers. Nenita filed an injury complaint with OSHA alongside housekeepers from eleven other Hyatt hotels, and continues to speak out about housekeeper injuries at the Hyatt. Martha and Lorena Reyes have traveled across the country advocating for immigrant women workers. They were recently honored for their work by the South Bay Labor Council Committee on Political Education (COPE). Sonia continues to fight for her job, and she too refuses to allow Hyatt’s abuse to silence her. In a letter to supporters, she said, “I need this job, but I’ve come too far to take abuse from anyone. That’s why I have raised my voice. I believe that all workers should have this right.”

And the number one message that all of these women are sharing? Boycott Hyatt!

That’s right, workers at Hyatt’s across the country are calling on customers not to eat, sleep, meet, or spend any money at their hotels until they achieve justice from the Hyatt corporation. So in celebration of Mama’s Day and in honor of Victoria, Nenita, Martha, Lorena, Sonia, and all of the mothers who work at Hyatt, please join our campaign and pledge to boycott Hyatt Hotels.

This blog is part of Strong Families Mama’s Day Our Way blog series. It originally appeared here. Make and send a custom Mama’s Day e-card at www.mamasday.org. Strong Families is a national initiative led by Forward Together. Its goal is to change the way people think, act and talk about families.

April 26, 2012

My name is Oliverio Barcenas.  I have worked at Le Meridien for 22 years.  I work as a cook at the hotel. I take pride in my work and want to provide the best meal I can with the tools that I have.

I have been an active member of the union committee at this hotel because I do not like how I am disrespected.  When I was first hired, I started in the stewarding department.  Three years ago I was asked to cook.  I was excited about the opportunity.  However, my name has never been transferred to the cooks list even though I only cook.  What this means is that cooks who were hired after I was moved into the kitchen gets more hours than I do and a better schedule.  In fact, when I moved into the kitchen, my wages were reduced.

This is one of the reasons why last Friday, I stood with my co-workers, San Francisco Supervisor John Avalos and graduates of Harvard University to deliver a petition to management.  We delivered a petition from the committee expressing solidarity with the Boston workers who are now fighting alongside us.  Now I am concerned after I learned that Sonia and Thomas just said that my food is no good.  Is this a result of me standing up?

I share this story because I believe the hotel is being disrespectful to me and to my co-workers.  After 20 years of serving at Le Meridien, I am hearing for the first time that my work is being devalued.  I would love to cook good, quality, organic food for my co-workers, but the fact is the product we are told to cook for our coworkers is just not of that caliber.   Management should not put the blame on me for the poor quality of the food for the employees.  If management is trying to intimidate me because I stood up for what I believe, it won’t work.  I am going to continue to tell my story and encourage my coworkers to do the same. Our story is our power.

Workers and community hold “Gala for the 99%” at site of Walmart & Hyatt Board members’ high-society fundraiser

April 19, 2012

Today, Bay Area Walmart and Hyatt workers will come together to demand that Greg and Carrie Penner address the injustice and abuse they face in the workplace.   The Penners are members of the Walton family – the richest family in the US and owners of Walmart.  Greg Penner sits on the Boards of Directors of both Walmart and Hyatt Hotels.  Walmart and Hyatt workers, joined by community members, will hold a “Gala for the 99%” at the site of the California Academy of Science’s “Big Bang Gala” in Golden Gate Park, which is co-hosted by Carrie Penner.  The protest, which will begin at 5:00pm in Golden Gate Park, is part of a nationwide 99% Power Campaign to hold corporate America, the 1%, accountable to the rest of us in the 99%.

Thursday’s protest comes at a time of national outrage over the corporate 1% that is wreaking havoc on our economy.  Greg and Carrie Penner are the face of the 1% in California.  The Walton family’s immense wealth – 6 members of the family have more wealth than the bottom 35% of Americans combined – was built on the backs of Walmart workers.  While the Waltons expect to receive $2.7 billion this year in Walmart dividends alone, Walmart workers make an average of just $8.81/hour.  Walmart’s full-time of 34 hours/week means a full-time associate earns just $15,500/year.  Walmart Associates’ work environment is often hostile, and Associates who have tried to utilize Walmart’s Open Door have found that their issues are not resolved and confidentiality is not respected.

Enrique Bognot, a Walmart Associate from Milpitas, CA, says of Thursday’s action: “If I had the opportunity to speak with Greg Penner, I would tell him to listen to Associates of OURWalmart and fix the Open Door Policy because it is unfair.  It is important for Associates to speak up!”

Greg Penner received a seat on the board of Hyatt Hotels Corporation when the Walton family invested $1 Billion in Hyatt in 2007.  Hyatt has distinguished itself as the most abusive employer in the hotel industry.  Hyatt’s use of subcontracting allows it to pay housekeepers poverty wages while evading legal liability for unsafe working conditions.  Hyatt housekeepers face high injury rates, and at some Hyatts, housekeepers have to clean as many as 30 rooms a day, nearly double what is typically required at union hotels.  In response, Hyatt workers have taken bold steps to end mistreatment, speaking publicly about abuses, going on strike, and even launching a national boycott of Hyatt.

“It’s not surprising to me that someone from the Walmart family also sits on the Board of Hyatt,” says Martha Reyes, a former housekeeper at the Hyatt Santa Clara.  “Hyatt is the Walmart of hotel companies in the way it treats us workers.” Reyes is one of two sisters and long-time employees who were fired by Hyatt after an objection to the posting of demeaning pictures of housekeepers in bikinis on a company bulletin board.

The Penner action is one of the first of a nationwide effort called 99% Power which will be protesting outside shareholder meetings across the country to demand accountability from corporate America.  Thousands of members of the 99% Power coalition of workers and retirees, families fighting foreclosure and the unemployed, students, immigrants, and environmentalists will participate in actions throughout this spring and summer– including actions targeting Wells Fargo just days later.  Demonstrators will directly face and challenge the 1% board members and executives that have only served to expand inequality, threaten democracy, destroy our environment and have put their desire for profit in direct conflict with the survival of families and communities.

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For more information on OUR Walmart, see www.forrespect.org.  For more information on the Hyatt campaign, see www.hyatthurts.org.  For more information on 99% Power, see www.the99power.org.

Press contact: Julia Wong, jwong@unitehere2.org, 203-915-9572 or Ben Waxman, bwaxman@ufcw.org, 202-256-4138

Our good friend and brother, Mike Welch, passed away on Sunday, March 25.  Mike retired from his Field Representative position in 2004 due to health reasons.

Mike first worked at the Fairmont Hotel in the dish room beginning in the late 70s. It was a time, not unlike today, of social and political upheaval; and as an activist, Mike threw himself into the labor movement.

Over the course of approximately 30 years, Mike was an important part of the transformation of our Union, making it more member-driven, more militant and more relevant to industry workers.

Among his many accomplishments at Local 2, Mike was:

• A member fo the 1980 hotel negotiating committee leading to the watershed hotel strike that year
• An organizer and representative during the 1984 restaurant strike
• Both an organizer and a candidate in numerous Local 2 elections seeking to make the Union more accountable to its membership
• Always a strong voice for democracy and member participation in the Union
• A leader in labor-management cooperation initiatives, like the opening of Michael Mina’s restaurant at the St. Francis
• A strong advocate for all Local 2 members, especially our immigrant members who fought for a stronger voice on the job.

Mike recruited and trained key rank & file leaders in both the food service and hotel division of our Union.  He demonstrated a unique mix of both patience with the process of change and also righteous indignation when faced with societal and workplace injustice.

In spite of obstacles and the usual setbacks we encounter in our movement, Mike never wavered in his thoughtful and committed approach to improving workers’ lives.  We are indebted to Mike for his service to and belief in our members during times of labor peace and times of struggle.  He will be truly missed.

Mike Welch Memorial
Friday, April 20, 2012 – 4:30 PM
Local 87 Union Hall
240 Golden Gate Ave. (Across from Local 2)

Cynthia Reed — PBX Operator — Hyatt Regency San Francisco  – 22 years of service

A lot of people ask me, “Why do you fight?  You don’t have children.”  I fight because my co-workers have children.  I fight because my co-workers have medical issues.  I fight because it’s the right thing to do and it makes me feel good.  And when I fight, I’m standing up for my rights as well.  I always turn to my Bible and refer to the Malachi.  There are certain things that God asks of us, especially those that He has blessed to be rich.  God says, “Take care of the fatherless and the widows, treat the immigrants in your country justly, and pay your workers fair.”  Those are the only things that are asked.  Pay them fair, because you’re blessed to be rich.  Needless to say, corporations won’t do it.

A native of Vicksburg, Mississippi, I moved to San Francisco as a child.  My maternal grandparents died when my mother was very young.   My mother was left to raise five of her younger siblings and me.  She has always provided for us.  Growing up as an African-American has been very difficult.  People believe that racism only exists in the South, but hidden racism saturates San Francisco. I have been surrounded by a lot of racism, especially when I was going to school.  The only difficulties I have been faced with have been outside of my home. Read more.