Hotel workers in biohazard gear to protest Wyndham hotel with MGH facility

Workers say not enough has been fixed at hotel after high-profile campaign

BOSTON, MA—Hotel staff of the Wyndham Boston Beacon Hill Hotel will protest tonight in a continued effort to rid the hotel of health hazards. They will be joined by 400 supporters. MGH maintains an 8-bed sleep study in the hotel.

Workers will wear disposable suits that prevent the transmission of bloodborne pathogens. These are an example of the kinds of supplies that should be given to workers to handle potentially infectious materials such as blood, vomit, feces, and needles.

OSHA opened an inspection of the hotel in May 2015. This week workers submitted further evidence to the agency supporting their allegations of hazardous working conditions related to bloody materials, needles, and other medical waste. Workers also allege lacking information about the waste they clean and dispose of from the MGH sleep study inside the hotel.

In July, the hotel hired a temporary agency to clean hotel rooms. Workers said they are concerned temporary staff are not given enough training and that the hotel is going in the wrong direction.

WHAT: Wyndham hotel employees to demonstrate in hazmat suits to illustrate hotel’s continued failure to keep workers safe

WHEN: Wednesday, September 9, 5:30pm

WHERE: Wyndham Boston Beacon Hill hotel, 5 Blossom St, Corner of Cambridge St and Blossom St. Across from MGH.

WHO: 500 people picketing and chanting including hotel workers in uniform, union members in t-shirts, and nurses in scrubs

VISUALS: hotel workers in biohazard gear including blood-spill gown, face covering, and blue gloves

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Wyndham whistleblowers train temp workers at Boston hotel

“We Spoke Up. They’re Not Listening.”

Workers at the Wyndham hotel in Boston clean rooms for Massachusetts General Hospital patients. They filed an OSHA complaint because they cleaned blood, vomit, feces, and needles without enough training and protection. They went on strike June 25, 2015 and they testified at Boston City Council that they were afraid for their safety at work.

Wyndham is going in the wrong direction. Two weeks later—with an OSHA inspection ongoing—the hotel made workers train temporary staff on how to do their jobs. Now temporary workers are cleaning hotel rooms where hospital patients have stayed.

Workers are worried that temporary staff do not have enough training to do their jobs safely, and may ultimately become replacement workers.

Workers spoke up. Wyndham’s not listening. Share this video to make sure they do:

Plan aims to protect guests from human trafficking, bed bugs and biohazards in Boston hotels

Plan aims to protect guests from human trafficking, bed bugs and biohazards in Boston hotels

BOSTON, MA—Today Boston City Council endorsed a plan to tackle the most common threats to hotel guest safety.

Boston Safe Hotels is a voluntary code of compliance. Participating hotels will offer tools, training, and staff time to protect hotel guests from pests and pathogens. It will also equip hotel workers to identify and respond to human trafficking in Boston hotels.

The plan is timely as a hotel in New York is being cited as a possible hotspot for Legionnaire’s disease. 12 people died and 113 have been infected.

“Boston hotels have an opportunity to show national leadership on hotel safety,” said Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley. “We want people who travel to Boston and stay in our hotels to know we’ve gone the extra mile to keep them safe.”

The plan is available at www.bostonsafehotels.org.

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For Immediate Release: August 12, 2015

Contact: Tiffany Ten Eyck, 313-515-1807, [email protected]

 

Boston Globe: Hilton Back Bay Workers Unionize

“Now they have the opportunity to sit down as equals with the hotel to negotiate on their wages, benefits, and working conditions,” Local 26 President Brian Lang said. “What’s great about this is this is a hotel company that is now committed to doing this in a collaborative and responsible way.

Back Bay Hilton Workers Join Local 26

Workers at the Boston Back Bay Hilton have joined UNITE HERE Local 26. An agreement was reached between the Hotel and Local 26 to voluntarily recognize the union.

The 390-room up-scale hotel is a fixture of Boston’s skyline with an attractive location in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood.

UNITE HERE Local 26 is a 7000-member union of hotel, food service, airport, and casino workers based in Boston.

Both parties look forward to productive dialogue in bargaining for a first union contract to cover wages, benefits, and working conditions.