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April 26, 2011
Progressive Jews support improved contracts for Hyatt employees
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Progressive leaders from the local Jewish community showed support for employees of the Hyatt hotel chain on April 21.
A delegation of Jewish community leaders convened at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza and met with hotel staff persons. The delegation called on the hotel to provide better wages for the hotel’s nonmanagement employees, an end to union busting and a safer work environment for its employees.
Rabbi Jonathan Klein, executive director of the economic justice advocacy group CLUE-LA, led the group, which brought symbols of Passover — matzah, bitter herbs and cups of wine — to the meeting to illustrate their message.
“Symbols of enslavement and suffering, and symbols of freedom and liberation,” Klein explained.
Tracey Pool, senior executive assistant manager at Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, met with the delegation on behalf of the hotel.
“Please understand that we would love to settle the issues we have had, and we would love to have a fair contract in place, that this is not an anti-union hotel,” Pool said.
Klein asked Pool which “she’d rather consume,” wine or the bitter herbs. When Pool said she preferred the wine, Klein handed her a glass, and they both drank.
CLUE-LA, an interfaith social justice organization, in partnership with Unite Here Local 11, the union that represents the workers at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, called for the meeting, which took place in the reception area outside the office of Hyatt Regency Century Plaza general manager David Horowitz.
The delegation in support of the workers included the Progressive Jewish Alliance, the Jewish Labor Committee, several Los Angeles rabbis and Christian leaders.
L.A. City Councilman Paul Koretz attended the meeting, and he spoke of a bright future for hotel employees. “This change has to happen. It is going to happen,” Koretz said to Pool. “It’s just a question of when.”
The meeting showed the Jewish community’s ongoing commitment to Hyatt employees. Last July, CLUE-LA participated in a large protest on Sunset Boulevard on behalf of Hyatt workers. That day’s events included a sit-in that led to 63 arrests for civil disobedience.
A version of this article appeared in print.Post your comment below!
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Another program that worked: we sponsored outreach into the minority community by having our minority engineers and management personnel visit elementary schools in poor areas with high minority enrollment .Thus, students were then given the vision that they too could obtain the status through education and training.
The students were then brought within the corporation to see the on-the-job life of these role models. Also, they were given mentors (not only minority but others) who helped them stay in school and stay focused.
Later many became summer employees and then eventually full-time employees.
It is programs like this that would enhance the life of many.
- Comment by HOWARD LAITIN on 4/27/11 at 8:03 pm
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Progressive community could focus on helping workers obtain path to better life by emulating those cos that have taken their janitors, guards, & other service personnel &brought; them into the middle class with careers and futures
Thru classes &tutoring; we helped them obtain HS equivalency. We taught skills which led to higher level employment such as factory planning, inspection, etc. We taught resume preparation, interviewing skills, job hunting skills, etc
This is a model that any company can implement. Higher wages may make cos less competitive. More skilled &more; dedicated workers makes cos more competitive.
Search out best practices & then migrate them to other companies.