Victory for the "Hyatt 100"

Five years ago, three Hyatt Hotels in the Boston area abruptly fired 98 housekeepers. The hotels brought in replacement workers, paying them roughly half the hourly wage. The fired housekeepers had been told to train these new housekeepers who turned out to be their replacements.

The fired workers didn't belong to a union, but they quickly approached a local of UNITE-HERE. A nationwide boycott of Hyatt hotels and then a global boycott were among the results. The Jewish Labor Committee, its regional offices and members jumped in to support the workers. An historic settlement was reached with most Hyatt hotels, but not the ones in the Boston area. So the New England JLC kept up its activism.Right from the beginning, the NE JLC was in the fight with both feet. Rabbi Barbara Penzner of Temple Hillel B'nai Torah and a co-chair of NE JLC along with our regional director Marya Axner, mobilized congregants, rabbis and JLC members. to support the boycott of the Hyatt Regency Boston, Hyatt Boston Harbor and Hyatt Regency Cambridge.Rabbi Penzner drafted a petition signed by Jewish clergy around the country and worked to keep religious groups from holding events at Hyatt hotels. She traveled to Chicago to confront Hyatt executives and rallied clergy to disrupt shareholder meetings. The NE JLC participated in rallies, arranged for letters to be written and helped keep the issue in front of the public.Finally, a few weeks ago, the Boston-area Hyatts gave in, agreeing to pay $1 million to the fired housekeepers and offering them hiring preference at future Hyatt-operated hotels.All of us at the JLC are proud of the work that the NE JLC did on behalf of the housekeepers and of the fact that the Boston Globe story and editorial in particular highlighted Rabbi Penzner's activity, which were so important to this victory.Read more from 'The Jewish Advocate'       

UNITE HERE and Hyatt Hotels Reach National Agreement; Boycott Continues at Boston Hyatts

UNITE HERE has reached a national agreement with Hyatt Hotels. This is a huge step forward.However, although UNITE HERE has reached a national agreement with Hyatt Hotels, there are still many issues to resolve, including attaining justice for the Hyatt workers in Boston. The boycott will continue for the three Hyatt Hotels in Boston: Hyatt Regency Boston, Hyatt Regency Cambridge, and Hyatt Harborside.The national agreement will go into effect upon the ratification of the Hyatt union contracts in San Francisco, Hawaii, Chicago, and Los Angeles.  Pending worker approval, those contracts will be in line with the city standards and include substantial wage increases, quality health and pension benefits, and job security.  The agreement establishes a process for Hyatt workers at a number of hotels to gain union representation through a fair process, and creates a framework for an ongoing relationship between UNITE HERE and Hyatt.Pending associate approval, the contracts will provide retroactive wage increases and maintain quality health care and pension benefits. The proposed new contracts would cover associates into 2018. - See HERE for more.The work of the New England Jewish Labor Committee has been an essential part of achieving this agreement.  It has been almost four years that we have been supporting the workers at Hyatt Hotels and we are happy to have made a significant difference on this campaign.We need to remember that it has been the thousands of courageous acts of the workers and their allies that have pressured Hyatt to come to this initial agreement.We in the Jewish community in Boston have to continue our support until the Hyatt workers here in Boston secure decent wages, benefits, safe working conditions, and respect on the job.Sadly that is not yet the case. An agreement will also need to be worked out about the Hyatt 100 who lost their jobs almost four years ago.The national agreement with Hyatt makes achieving justice for the Boston Hyatt workers more possible than before. We will keep you posted as plans develop.WHAT YOU CAN DO1. Please observe the boycott of the three Boston Hyatts, (Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Regency Cambridge, and Hyatt Harborside).2. Please avoid boycotted hotels when you travel and preferably stay at union hotels. Click here to find out which hotels are boycotted hotels and which are union hotels.3. Please organize your synagogue, other Jewish institution or workplace to observe the boycott in Boston. If you want to a speaker on this topic or other assistance, please contact the New England Jewish Labor Committee: 617 227-0888 or  NewEnglandJLC@jewishlabor.org4. PLEASE observe socially responsible event planning. Make sure you have protective language concerning labor disputes in your hotel contract. Such protective language allows you to nullify the contract in case of a labor dispute without a penalty. Inmex is a non-profit organization that will help you figure out the details of securing such language in a hotel contract. There is not a cost for this service.Even though we have not yet gained justice for the Hyatt workers in Boston, this agreement warrants celebration. We want to congratulate and thank all our supporters. We particularly want to thank Rabbi Barbara Penzner, Chair of the New England Jewish Labor Committee Rabbinic Advisory Council, for her continued leadership on this issue. Her commitment has been unwavering. We want to thank the thousands of rabbis and Jewish community members who signed petitions, participated in the boycott, wrote letters, and came to rallies and protests.