Post Hyatt Boston Labor Issues
ALA Midwinter-Boston- Hyatt firing its housekeeping staff
I will direct all state employees not to use Hyatt when
traveling or for other purposes for the foreseeable future. This is not
how I like to operate. But the treatment of these workers appears to be
so substandard that it leaves me no choice. --Deval Patrick
=====
Aaron W. Dobbs wrote on 9/23/2009:
At the very least, I would like to see a link or some indication on
the Housing Forms indicating there is a labor/management
dispute/fiasco at the Hyatt.
Let members decide for themselves where to stay, but I feel we (ALA
Council) have a responsibility to make information on this situation
available to members considering their housing options for Midwinter.
Also, I would like to see us send an open letter, similar to the
Patrick letter, which states that while we (ALA) have contracted for
housing, we cannot be held responsible for our members' choices to
avoid the Haytt. Our open letter should also be shared / distributed
electronically to our members who have indicated willingness to
receive emails from ALA.
I'll happily assist with reviewing/editing said letter if someone more
cogent than I could send up a first draft
-Aaron
:-)'
On Wed, Sep 23, 2009 at 4:17 PM, Diedre Conkling <diedre08@gmail.com>
wrote: > I hope that most ALA Council members saw this on the Member-Forum
list. I > do think that it would be appropriate for a letter to be sent
from ALA to > the Hyatt. I know that we can't pull out of the contract
with the Hyatt at > this time since this action probably is not one of the
conditions in our > contract which would allow for us to drop the Hyatt as
one of the hotels we > are using. However, this should not stop us from
letting them know that we, > or at least many ALA Members, are very
disturbed by the Boston Hyatt's > treatment of employees. I know that
there are ALA members who are no longer > going to be staying at the Hyatt
during the ALA Midwinter Meeting. > > Is there any action, such as sending
a letter, that is going to be taken?
> > ---------- Forwarded message
---------- > From: Frederick W Stoss <fstoss@buffalo.edu> > Date: Wed, Sep
23, 2009 at 12:59 PM > Subject: [member-forum] Mass. Governor Patrick's
letter to the Hyatt > ALA Midwinter Conference Hotels. > > ALA
would be EXTREMELY wise to do likewise. > > Fred Stoss, TFOE Chair,
past-Coordinator SRRT > >
> ----------
Forwarded message ---------- > Date: Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:55:42 -0800
(GMT-08:00)
From: Gerardo Colmenar <colmenar@library.ucsb.edu> > To:
PLGNet-L@listproc.sjsu.edu > fyi gary > Gerardo "Gary" Colmenar > U.C.
Santa Barbara > ----- Forwarded Message ----- > From: "Michelle Baildon"
<baildon@MIT.EDU> > To: "APALA-L" <APALA-L@lists.gseis.ucla.edu> > > Of
interest to those going to Midwinter in Boston, the response from Gov. >
Patrick to Hyatt firing its housekeeping staff: ----- Forwarded Message
---- >
Dear Friends: > > Earlier today, the Governor sent
Hyatt president Mark Hoplamazian a letter > warning that he will direct
all state employees to stop doing official > business with Hyatt unless
the company rehires the housekeeping staff it > fired from Boston-area
hotels on August 31. > > The letter follows below. > > Please forward to
your friends and family.
Dear Mr. Hoplamazian: > > Thank you
for speaking with me again yesterday and for your letter of > yesterday
afternoon. I appreciate the thoughtful tone of both, and your > efforts to
extend further benefits to the displaced workers. > > However, as I said
when we spoke, I am disappointed by your company's > unwillingness to
reconsider the decision to replace the housekeeping staff > with an
“outsourced” firm, and give the jobs back to the people who were >
displaced. You tell me that there are sound financial reasons for the >
company's decision, and I accept that. But the manner in which these
workers > were discharged is so inconsistent with both the expressed
values of the > Hyatt organization and basic fairness, that I do not
believe any other > remedy than full reinstatement is adequate. > > You
indicated that some of the facts reported on the methods and >
circumstances of the discharge were not correct. Because I appreciate that
> there are two sides to every story, I have spoken to a couple of
affected > workers personally, and will meet with a group of them later
this week to > take my own measure of their stories. So far, I am no less
troubled than I > was upon reading early media accounts. > > We want to
work with you. We value the presence of Hyatt in Boston and the >
Commonwealth, and will work with you to smoothly transition these workers,
> if there is no other choice. But you must understand that what has been
> imposed on these workers -- most of whom have worked hard, played by the
> rules, and invested their time and energy in your company's success --
is > both upsetting in its own right, and also the worst nightmare of
every > worker in today's weak economy. > > I understand first hand how
difficult it is to manage through the current > economic challenges
without compounding the disruptions the times have > caused. In this
economy, no business (or government, for that matter) is > immune from
these kinds of choices. But surely there is some way to retain > the jobs
for your housekeeping staff, as other hotels in the area have done, > and
to work with them to help the company meet its current challenges, >
rather than tossing them out unceremoniously to fend for themselves while
> the people they trained take their jobs at barely livable wages. > >
Again, I ask Hyatt to reconsider the decision to replace these workers. >
Barring that, I will direct all state employees not to use Hyatt when >
traveling or for other purposes for the foreseeable future. This is not
how > I like to operate. But the treatment of these workers appears to be
so > substandard that it leaves me no choice. > > Sincerely, > > Deval
Patrick >
Boston | MA | 02108 > > > > >
_______________________________________________ >