After 66 Years, Newbury Street Doorman Retires

Norman Pashoian, 85, worked his final day as a doorman at the Taj Hotel, formerly the Ritz Carlton, on Wednesday.   Pashoian reported to work Aug. 4, 1947, for the first day of his first job.   He has met many famous guests. “Here I was, just in my early 20s, and I was seeing someone as famous as [Winston] Churchill.  I was amazed.”  Pashoian said he went through more than a dozen hats during his career, or one every few years.  “He’s like a cucumber,” said Ibrahim Assaf, 55, a doorman who has worked beside Pashoian for 27 years. “Calm and cool.”  Congratulations Norman!!

Le Méridien hotel protests continue in Cambridge

Chants of “No Justice, No Peace” echoed through Central Square last Thursday, April 4, as hundreds of protesters marched from Cambridge City Hall to the Le Méridien on Sidney Street to support hotel workers’ rights.   Click on the title link to read more.

Activists Call for Fair Labor Practices at Le Méridien Hotel

Hotel workers, activists, and students gathered in front of Cambridge City Hall Thursday afternoon to protest what they characterized as unfair labor practices at the Le Méridien hotel in Cambridge.  Click on the title link to read more.

Labor dispute at Le Méridien

At 5 p.m. yesterday evening a crowd of approximately 200 gathered at the steps of the Cambridge City Hall to demonstrate their support for employees of Le Méridien Hotel, located at 20 Sidney Street in Cambridge. At approximately 5:40, the crowd marched from City Hall to Le Méridien where the protest continued as hotel guests looked on from their tables in the hotel restaurant.

Boston hotel workers authorize strike, if needed

Some companies haven’t signed citywide contract; union says job security is top issue.

Hotel workers voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to authorize a strike at some of Boston’s biggest and most prestigious hotels if the companies don’t agree to a new citywide contract.

Fifteen of the city’s 24 unionized hotels have already signed the new five-year contract, which raises wages and benefits by 4 percent a year and strengthens protections for workers if a hotel is sold or goes into bankruptcy.