On Sept. 24, over 1,700 members and supporters of Unite Here Local 2 took to the streets of San Francisco in a militant display of labor power.
 Hotel workers and their supporters stage a sit-in, San Francisco, Calif., Sept. 24 |
As tourists and shoppers walked through Union Square, thousands of Local 2 activists rallied in the streets. Chants of “What do we want? Contract!” could be heard from blocks away.
One group of activists blocked the tracks of San Francisco’s famous cable cars in front of the St. Francis Hotel. Another group blocked the entrance to the Grand Hyatt before entering the building and occupying the lobby for over 20 minutes. Around 90 labor activists were arrested, cited and released. San Francisco Bay Area members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation took part in both the march as well as the civil disobedience action.
The union is engaged in an ongoing struggle to win a contract for 13,000 of its members who are room cleaners, bellmen, food-service and other hotel workers in San Francisco and San Mateo. Nine thousand members of Local 2 have been working without a contract since August 2009. The bosses have been pushing hard during contract negotiations to do away with health care benefits.
The message sent by the Sept. 24 labor mobilization, however, was clear and unambiguous: Local 2 workers have no intention of giving up their hard-won benefits. Local 2 has a long history of militant action. In 2004, during previous contract negotiations, workers virtually shut down business at luxury hotels in San Francisco for two weeks.
Local 2 has pledged to continue the struggle for the rights of its members, and is setting an example for all workers under attack: It’s time to fight back!
