 Sit-in in front of Chicago Hyatt Photo: Stefani Fisher |
On July 22, hundreds of
supporters, including members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation,
blocked the sidewalks in front of the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Chicago,
to show support for 25 workers who engaged in an act of civil disobedience.
They were there to protest the ongoing labor struggle within the largest hotel
chain in the city.
Labor contracts that affect the
livelihoods of over 6,000 hotel workers expired almost a year ago and
negotiations are still at a standstill. The Hyatt hotel chain claims that
salary freezes, increasing health care premiums and decreasing pensions are all
sacrifices that need to be made due to a failing economy. The executives of the
company claim this without ever giving a thought to the absolute injustice in
their own huge, six-figure salaries—which only exist because of the sacrifices
made by the working class.
In response to the 1,200
applicants at a recent Hyatt open hiring event, Vice President and Managing
Director John Schafer stated, “If the word on the street was that this was a
bad place to work, would 1,200 people be lining up for a job?”
This is a clear indication of
exactly how detached the executives of the Hyatt Regency are from the needs of
workers. They justify their blatant abuse of their employees by arguing that as
long as someone, anyone, is desperate enough to work in their horrible conditions,
then things must not be that bad.
