Students Join Ithacans in Fast For Hotel Workers' Right to Earn Living Wage

[Omaha Steve]

http://cornellsun.com/node/28395

March 7, 2008 - 12:00am
By Emily Cohn

Yesterday at noon marked the end of a 40-hour fast for a group of local activists, including Fil Eden ’10, Carlos Rymer ’09, Stephanie Knight ’09 and Molly Bryson ’10, who participated in the event organized to advocate for local hotel workers’ rights. About 30 Ithaca residents gathered outside of the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel in Ithaca for the end of the fast, which coincided with the release of a settlement from the National Labor Relations Board regarding files charged against the hotel in defense of workers’ rights.

The settlement, released yesterday by the NLRB, upheld the charges of unfair labor practices filed by the Tompkins County Workers’ Center against the Hilton, which accused the hotel of violating federal labor law by disregarding workers’ freedom of association.

The charges were filed on behalf of Michelle Lopez, who was fired from her job as a housekeeper for the Hilton after advocating for the formation of a union. According to Pete Meyers, co-founder of the TCWC, which helped organize the fast, the hotel’s management threatened to fire workers who discussed Lopez’s dismissal.

Meyers said the settlement represented a partial victory for local workers, as it mandated that the Hilton post a statement for 60 days informing workers of their right to assemble and discuss workplace conditions.

“From the beginning of the TCWC claim filed against us on behalf of Ms. Lopez in November, we have happily cooperated with the NLRB’s investigation into her allegations,” James Bouderau, general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn of Ithaca, stated in an e-mail.

“The right to organize is legally protected. Our hope is that by bringing to light the injustices and illegal activity of the hotel industry in this area, we can put enough pressure on the hotels to change their practices,” said Eden, who is president of the Cornell Organization for Labor Action.

FULL story at link.

[brentspeak]

1. Excellent!

:kick: