Bruce Vail had a
piece for LaborNotes
on the Baltimore City Hyatt Labor Dispute. Late last week, Hyatt Corp received a
vote of “no confidence” from Baltimore City Council when the Labor Committee
advanced the resolution to cease Hyatt’s union suppression efforts. The
resolution pressures Hyatt to sign a “labor Peace Agreement,” which would allow
Local 7’s organizing campaign at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore to move forward
without obstruction from managers. The 3-0 vote came on March 14, and now heads
to the full City Council, where it will pass.
A two-hour hearing
on the resolution was pretty one-sided where Hyatt workers and their supporters
detailed the labor problems. 100 union backers filled the council chamber, and
Hyatt refused to send a representative to defend the company opting to send a
letter. Baltimore is just part of UNITE HERE’s “Hyatt Hurts” campaign that
launched last year in an effort to broaden union representation at Hyatt
hotels.
Hyatt is feeling
the burn and has issued a statement last week applauding the new contract
settlements with UNITE HERE locals at three different locations (Philly,
Denver, and San Diego). The statement includes mentions of smaller settlements
with units of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Service Employees
International Union, and International Longshore & Warehouse Union. Hyatt’s
attempts at labor harmony are spreading to Baltimore now where Hyatt has made
an offer to settle a specific grievance: Hyatt’s hiring of numerous low-wage
temporary workers instead of we;;-paid permanent employees this results in
denying temp workers better wages and benefits while hindering the unions ability
to organize.
Naturally, Hyatt’s
attempts to not be an awful employer might have something to do with the rumors
that President Obama is interested in appointing Hyatt heiress Penny Pritzker
as US Secretary of Commerce. She has come under fire as being bad on labor and
the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) beat her back recently. Interestingly, in
Baltimore UNITE HERE appears to have a great deal of power based on legal
commitments dating back to 1979.
Well,
fingers-crossed this ends well. I always get nervous when labor looks like it
is going to win without doing much. That and I look around for Hoffa, just
kidding B told me where he was buried.
