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Sunday, Nov 22, 2009
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Courtesy of Pride At Work AFL-CIO -
Special to the SGN |
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| Courtesy of Pride At Work AFL-CIO - Special to the SGN | ||
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Hotel workers represented by UNITE HERE Local 8 staged an informational picket line outside the Edgewater Hotel on Saturday, August 30. Their intent was not to prevent work or deliveries at the hotel, but to dramatize a contract dispute between the union and the hotel management. UNITE HERE Local 8, which represents 170 Edgewater workers, has been fighting for a new contract there since June. "We told them that if we didn't have a contract signed by Labor Day, we would start turning up the heat, and this is the kickoff," said UNITE HERE organizer Jessica Lawson. The Edgewater contract is the final one in the first round of UNITE HERE's Hotel Workers Rising campaign. The campaign aims to raise traditionally low-wage, low-benefit hospitality industry workers to middle-class status. UNITE HERE achieved groundbreaking contract language - including first time ever anti-discrimination protection for Transgender workers - in early 2007 in their contract with the Westin Hotel. These provisions were also adopted in the recent contracts signed with hotels at SEATAC airport. The same anti-discrimination language is being proposed for the Edgewater contract, but management has refused to accept it. Pride At Work spokesperson Mike Andrew said, "Adding gender identity and expression to the anti-discrimination language was a huge breakthrough for our community, and we want to see that become the industry standard. It's in the interest of the whole community, and we will do anything we can to help UNITE HERE achieve it." The Edgewater - a four-diamond-rated property - is owned by Noble House Hotels and Resorts, headquartered in Bellevue. The Edgewater was their only union house until they acquired a property in San Diego recently. Most Edgewater employees are represented by UNITE HERE, but the hotel gift shop and some of the laundry work have been contracted out to non-union companies. UNITE HERE International Vice President and Local 8 Principal Officer Rick Sawyer noted that water-side rooms there rent for $500-$550 per night during the summer, and $300 on the street side. Sawyer also noted that the workload for Edgewater room attendants is 15 rooms, while 11-12 rooms is the typical workload for comparable hotels. Larger workloads result in higher rates of injury, in an industry that has one of the highest worker injury rates in the country. Although Edgewater management told workers they could not join the picket line on their breaks, workers did join the line at shift change. About 50 workers, family members, and UNITE HERE staff were joined by supporters from other unions and community organizations. UNITE HERE has filed an unfair labor practices complaint against the hotel. UNITE HERE, which represents many LGBT workers in the hospitality and food service industries, is also on the record in support of marriage equality. In March this year the union's General Executive Board unanimously adopted a resolution to "support the rights of LGBT individuals and couples against discrimination in all areas including employment, housing and civil marriage." The resolution was submitted by UNITE HERE General President Bruce Raynor, who had long supported marriage equality, and Hospitality President John Wilhelm. "UNITE HERE has always been a good ally of our community," Andrew said, "and we want to be good allies in return. I think the whole community will support them, once people learn the issues." Among the organizations supporting the Edgewater workers were the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Communication Workers of America (CWA), International Association of Machinists (IAM), International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), National Organization of Women (NOW), Pride At Work, and the Puget Sound Alliance of Retired Americans (PSARA). Pride At Work is an LGBT labor organization affiliated with the AFL-CIO. It includes members of both AFL-CIO and Change To Win unions, as well as non-union and straight allies. Pride At Work can be contacted through its Secretary-Treasurer Mike Andrew at 206-261-8110. |
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