Recall Legislation to be Introduced in Front of Boston’s Worst Offender on Jobs Crisis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 18, 2021
Contact:  Nicki Morris, 857-498-2495, [email protected]
Twitter: @unitehere26

Press Conference and Picket Line: Recall Legislation to be
Introduced in Front of Boston’s Worst Offender on Jobs Crisis

UNITE HERE Local 26 joins Senator Joe Boncore, former Marriott Copley
employees fired in middle of pandemic, to back recall legislation

What: After months of mass firings in the hospitality industry, UNITE HERE Local 26 called
March 22, Massachusetts’ Reopening Day according to Governor Charlie Baker, the deadline for
Boston hotels to publicly state that they planned to retain their furloughed workers. Not a
single hotel stepped forward to state their plan to recall their workers. Over the past year,
thousands of hotel workers sat at home, waiting for the phone to ring. In cases like the Marriott
Copley and the Revere Hotel, workers there have been permanently fired. Many feel utterly
betrayed, their decades of service and loyalty suddenly amounting to nothing. Because hotels
refuse to do the right thing on their own, the Hotel Comeback Bill is being introduced in the
Massachusetts House and Senate. The legislation seeks to get the hotel industry back on track
by allowing experienced workers to return to work once the COVID crisis is over.

At the Marriott Copley, after surviving on employment since March due to the COVID-19
pandemic, Marriott Copley workers were shocked and horrified to learn their furlough was
permanent. In September, over 230 Marriott Copley workers were fired. They were not offered
the chance to return to work when the crisis was over, but instead told they could reapply,
losing decades of service they put into Marriott. To add insult to injury, many fired workers
were offered less than half of the severance pay they had expected after years of loyalty and
hard work due to a sudden change in policy. Although the Marriott Copley workers are not
union members, UNITE HERE Local 26 is supporting them in their fight for just treatment.

When: Tuesday, March 23, 2021 from 10:00am-11:30am
Where: Marriott Copley Place, 110 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02116
Who: Recently fired Marriott Copley hotel workers, UNITE HERE Local 26 President Carlos
Aramayo, Massachusetts Senator Joe Boncore
Note: Interviews available by phone, and after the event over Skype, and Zoom

Why: With over 8,000 union and nonunion Boston hotel workers unemployed, the members of
UNITE HERE Local 26 are proud to be working with Senate Joe Boncore and Representative
Marjorie Decker to provide some peace of mind for thousands of regional hotel workers. With
protections in place, Massachusetts could allow hotel workers to return to their positions once
the COVID-19 crisis is over, if and when their positions return.
Similar policies have gone into effect in several California cities, including Los Angeles, San
Francisco, San Diego, Oakland, and Philadelphia. Recently, Providence, Rhode Island became
the first East Coast city to provide such protections for hospitality workers.

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UNITE HERE Local 26 is the hospitality workers’ union and represents over 12,000 members working in the hotel,
food service, and airport industries in Boston and Rhode Island.  Learn more at www.local26.org

UNITE HERE represents over 300,000 members working in the hotel, gaming, food service, and airport industries
across the US and Canada. Learn more at www.unitehere.org.