Chicago Sun-Times | Employees of Starwood Hotels in Chicago have ratified a contract that raises wages for the next two years. The deal covers 1,200 workers at the Sheraton, Westin Michigan Avenue, Westin River North, W Lakeshore, W City Center and Tremont hotels and another 2,000 at hotels whose contracts pattern the Sheraton’s. The employees, represented by Unite Here Local 1, have been working without a contract since August 2009.
Inside these posts: Unite Here Local 1
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Union approves deal with local Hilton hotels
After 18 months without a labor contract, Hilton workers in Chicago have voted to settle on a four-year contract that maintains benefits at current levels and offers modest raises.
Hilton is the first major hotel chain in Chicago to settle with the union in the heated negotiation process which has brought months of picketing, temporary strikes, demonstrations and boycotts to some of the largest hotels in Chicago. Get the full story »
Hyatt: Let employees vote on whether to unionize
Four Hyatt hotels in California and Indiana are petitioning the National Labor Relations Board to allow employees to vote by secret ballot on whether to unionize, a move that goes against the wishes of Unite Here, the hotel workers union.
The union has been pushing for a “card check” vote, in which employees sign cards stating that they wish to be represented by a union. Hyatt has opposed the method, citing concerns that employees could be pressured into pledging support. Get the full story »
Strike today at Palmer House Hilton
Workers picket outside the Palmer House Hilton Thursday. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Tribune)
In the second such demonstration at a Hilton property in two months, workers at the Palmer House Hilton are on temporary strike today.
The strike at the property at 17 E. Monroe St. is joined by similar strikes at Hiltons in Honolulu and San Francisco and follows a 3-day strike two months ago at Hilton Chicago.
Unite Here Local 1 union spokeswoman Annemarie Strassel said workers are “outraged that Hilton finagled $180 million in bailout funds” while their expired contracts lingered. Get the full story »
Hyatt defends safety record after OSHA complaints
Hyatt Hotels Corp. defended its safety record Tuesday, following an announcement by the hotel workers union that it has filed complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on behalf of Hyatt housekeepers.
The complaints are being filed on behalf of workers at 12 Hyatt properties, including four in Chicago, citing more than 780 injuries that have been recorded on OSHA logs at those hotels. Unite Here, the union filing the complaints, cited injury rates that are 50 percent higher than the rest of industry.
Robb Webb, chief human resources officer for Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels Corporation called Unite Here’s accusations of a dangerous work environment “false” and aimed at increasing union membership and dues. Get the full story »
Hilton Chicago workers in last day of strike
Hilton workers protest in front of thee Hilton Hotel on Michigan Avenue in Chicago Saturday. (Tribune / Abel Uribe)
A strike by hundreds of Hilton Chicago Hotel workers who are working without a contract entered its third and presumably last day today. The three-day strike began Saturday in connection with the workers’ inability to negotiate an agreement at the same time they assert the hotel received a sweetheart deal from the federal government. Get the full story>>
Hilton workers OK strike at 4 Chicago hotels
Hilton Hotels workers in Chicago voted Thursday night to authorize a strike at the Chicago Hilton, Hilton O’Hare, the Palmer House Hilton and the Drake, according to Unite Here Local 1 and Local 450.
The union said 96 percent of its members voted in favor of a strike, which authorizes the bargaining committee to call a strike, if necessary. They are the third group of hotel workers in nine months to hold such a vote in the wake of unsettled contract negotiations between Chicago hotels and the union. Get the full story »
