Hotel Workers Union Starts Wage Campaign

[Catchawave]

By Amy Joyce
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 19, 2006; Page D03

The major hotel workers union launched a campaign yesterday designed to narrow the wage gap between workers in various states, pointing out that hospitality employees in highly unionized areas make more than double those in less-unionized areas.

Unite Here, the result of two unions that merged in 2004, mainly represents workers employed by the operating companies that own the majority of hotels in the nation, including Hilton Hotels Corp., Hyatt Corp., Marriott International Inc. and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. The union represented Washington workers in a contract dispute last year.


John Wilhelm, president of the hospitality division of the union, said his group has recruited actor and activist Danny Glover and former senator John Edwards to join in the campaign, dubbed Hotel Workers Rising.

The push, he said, "involves bringing all those folks together to say to those hotel companies that everyone would be better off if they brought about middle-class jobs in whole industry." ............cont'd

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/18/AR2006011802376.html