On the picket line

Hotel workers continue fight for contract

A steady downpour on March 12 failed to deter UNITE HERE Local 2 hotel workers and supporters from holding a spirited picket line outside the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. The workers, who have been fighting since August for a contract with no cuts in health care benefits, called a boycott of the hotel months ago. A union press release noted: “The Starwood Corporation, which manages this hotel, makes huge profits every year. This hotel alone generated $17 million in earnings for its ownership in 2009, through the hard work we do.” It continued: “But Starwood is trying to use the current economic crisis to roll back our health care. ... It’s not that Starwood can’t afford to cover our health care; it’s just that they don’t want to.” The picket was called March 12 to shame the World Affairs Council for holding its convention at the Westin. The union declared: “You can’t lead globally if you won’t lead locally.”

Health insurance lobbyists in D.C.

Thousands of union members and health care activists, organized by a joint committee of the two leading labor organizations, surrounded the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C., on March 9 while health insurance lobbyists convened to plot ways to stop the modest health care bill. “Blocking health care reform is a crime!” chanted the activists as a delegation, armed with a warrant to arrest the lobbyists, attempted to enter the hotel. After they were rebuffed, demonstrators covered building entrances with bright yellow tape that read: “It’s a crime to deny our care.” (Union City, online newsletter of the Metro Washington AFL-CIO, March 10)

First labor contract signed under Indigenous law

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation signed the first labor contract negotiated under Native law with United Auto Workers Local 2121, which represents 2,500 dealers at two casinos in Foxwoods, Conn. An article in the Feb. 10 Indian Country Today noted that this “sets a model for improved labor relations between tribal nations and employees throughout Indian country,”

Defend union staff at NY Historical Society

Workers who run the day-to-day operation of the New York Historical Society, who have been members of United Auto Workers Local 2110 for over 30 years, demonstrated March 3 against unprecedented cutbacks proposed during contract negotiations. Not only does the NYHS want to freeze wages and drastically reduce health and retirement benefits, but it plans to reduce hours for many positions so workers in the library, print room, visitor services, store and mailroom will not be entitled to any benefits. “We do not believe the Society’s position is economically justified,” read the union flyer. “ ... Thanks to the hard work of all the Society’s employees, its prospects for the future are excellent.” To support the workers, urge NYHS President Louise Mirrer (lmirrer@nyhistory.org; 212-873-3400) to bargain “for a fair contract that recognizes [the workers’] long-term contribution to the Society.”

S.F. Labor Council affirms Haitian sovereignty

The San Francisco Labor Council passed a resolution March 1 urging that the Obama administration make giving vital aid to the Haitian people a priority over military deployment; that aid be distributed by civilian authorities; that the Haitian people coordinate and lead relief efforts and long-term rebuilding of their country; and that the U.S. support the Haitian people’s demand for sovereignty and self-determination. The resolution also called upon the top international financial groups “to secure the immediate cancellation of all of Haiti’s external debt” and requested grants, not debt-incurring loans, to help the country rebuild. In addition, it called for an end to the U.S. banishment of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide “so that he can freely and safely return ... and participate in the rebuilding of his country.” The resolution also asked the AFL-CIO to find ways for union members to be involved in reconstructing Haiti.