Detroit — Citing relatively low and stagnant wages compared to workers at other area hotels, the members of Unite Here Local 24 started what they call a ÿ24/7ÿ strike at Detroit's Westin Book Cadillac hotel on Sunday.þþThe strike, which was authorized in September, started at 5 a.m., said Nia Winston, president of Local 24, the hospitality union that represents about 160 workers at the hotel that includes bartenders, servers, cashiers, bellmen, front desk workers and housekeepers, Winston said.þþÿUnfortunately, many of the workers who work for the Marriott corporation...have to work two to three jobs to survive,ÿ Winston said.þþThat's the argument being made by 5,000 striking hotel workers at Marriott properties in five cities — San Francisco, Boston, San Jose, Oakland, and Detroit, said Unite Here spokeswoman Rachel Gumpert. þþÿThey've been at the table, but they sure have not been serious,ÿ Gumpert said of Marriott. ÿThis is a last-resort effort. We've been in negotiations for months. After we authorized strike votes, we went back to the table in every city, including Detroit, and we make good-faith efforts to get movement, and the company was absolutely unwillingÿ to come to terms.þþHotel management could not immediately be reached, nor could a spokesperson for the Marriott corporation.þþBut in a statement issued in September, after the strike vote was authorized, Marriott said that ÿshould the union and our employees choose to strike, our hotels will continue to operate and work to minimize any disruption and to provide the excellent service that our guest have come to expect.ÿþþUnion leaders contend the Westin Book Cadillac workers haven't been properly rewarded for their loyalty and are underpaid compared to new hires at other hotels. þþÿThis hotel opened in 2008 and there was an economic recession back then, so workers accepted a contract with no wage increasesÿ for two years, Winston said. ÿThrough the tough times, we continued to make sure the hotel stayed afloat,ÿ accepting only ÿminimalÿ wage increases in the years since.þþWinston argued that the workers at the Marriott at the Renaissance Center make an average of $2 more per hour.þþÿYou can literally get a job as a new hire over there and make more money than someone who's been here for 10 years, which is insane to me,ÿ Winston said. þþÿThis is not a day-shift picket line,ÿ Winston said, adding that workers would be taking turns to have a presence at the hotel's entrances ÿ24/7.ÿþþIf there were no strike starting at 5 a.m., Yolanda Murray, 43, would have started her shift at 6 a.m., ÿmaking sure everybody has clean and sanitized dishes.ÿ þþÿThe proposal they gave us was little, very little,ÿ Murray said. ÿIt was embarrassing.ÿþþMurray said that in her eight years working at the hotel, her wages have only increased by $2.50 an hour. þþCiting the higher wages allegedly paid to Marriott workers just blocks away at the Renaissance Center property, Murray asked, ÿwhy should it take us half-a-decade to make what they're making? Give us what we want and we'll come back.ÿþþUnion officials said the timeline on the Marriott proposal for wage increased would take years to bring Book Cadillac workers in line with others locally. þþÿOne job should be enough,ÿ Murray said. ÿI can't afford to put either one of my kids on my healthcare. I can't afford it. My deductible, for just myself, is $50/week.ÿ
Source: www.detroitnews.com
