WILD 32d Annual Summer Institute
Hampshire College, Amherst, MA
June 22 - 24, 2018
October 6, 2018
Support Striking Hotel Workers!
Join the picket line! Sign the petition!
Over 1500 Unite Here Local 26 members who work for the Marriott hotels are on strike. Many are women who not only work in the hotels but also do the unpaid work of parenting and maintaining their households. Local 26 women hotel workers on strike are taking leadership on the picket lines and with the media.
This is a key time for us as WILD women and supporters to step up and show our support by signing the petition link below and joining the picket lines.
The 7 hotels where workers are striking are: The Aloft Boston Seaport District, the Element Boston Seaport District, the Ritz-Carlton Boston, the Sheraton Boston, the W Hotel Boston, the Westin Boston Waterfront, and the Westin Copley Place. There will be a big picket line at 3pm on Friday at the Ritz Carlton between the Boston Common and Chinatown.
You can sign the pledge to support striking members of UNITE HERE by clicking here https://www.marriotttravelalert.org/sign-the-pledge/
Hotel workers called for a strike after Marriott failed to meet workers’ modest demand that One Job Should Be Enough, despite months of negotiations.
“I am striking because I have to work three jobs to try and cover all my family’s expenses,” said Brooke Melanson, a bartender at the Westin Boston Waterfront. “Just like any parent, I want time with my children to see them grow up. We hear all the time how well Marriott is doing. We want Marriott to recognize our contribution to their success.”
Marriott workers want jobs that allow them to live in Boston. They want to afford their rent, provide for their families, and retire with dignity. They want to work in safe conditions and have job security, including a say in how new technologies are introduced to the hospitality industry.
“Marriott has forced this strike. After 5 years of record profits and more than 6 months of contract talks Marriott still doesn’t get it,” said UNITE HERE Local 26 President Brian Lang. “It’s our work that creates the great experience for the hotel guests. We are the reason that they keep coming back. Our demand is modest and fair, One Job Should be Enough.”