Sick of Working Like Donkeys Hilton Workers Fight for A Union

Stamford, Connecticut. 

This week, workers at Hilton Hotel visited the manager’s office to deliver a cake decorated with the words, “Felicidades Union 217” (Congratulations Union 217), 

celebrating their petition for a union.

Last week I had the chance to shoot the preparation of the petition. 

It was an emotional day for me.

 

Although rooms routinely go for over $200 a night, the non-union housekeepers are forced to clean close to 30 rooms per day for about $11 an hour. This is the case workers for at the Hilton, but not for Hyatt housekeepers who unionized with UNITE HERE three years ago and are contracted to 16 rooms per day at around $16 hourly. The Hyatt workers have put in the work to support the workers and raise standards at the Hilton, knowing they will be stronger once the number of union hotels in the area doubles.

Housekeepers are not the only ones overworked and underpaid; kitchen workers are chronically understaffed and room service runners prep food, while banquet servers wash dishes, and the front desk settle tens of thousands a dollars a day for a little over minimum wage. Health care plans available to workers cost over $100 per week for families, reducing weekly pay stubs to as low as $75. Housekeeper Anna Boussiquot describes “going home after long days with a crooked back that remains crooked for hours.” Now, the Hilton workers stand tall as they unite against their boss.

Source : http://www.leftvoice.org/Sick-of-Working-Like-Donkeys-Hilton-Workers-Fight-for-A-Union