Thank you to the many Cambridge and Boston community members who marched, testified, boycotted and prayed with the workers of the Le Meridien Hotel as they worked to win a fair process to decide on unionization.
HEI, the owners of the Le Meridien Cambridge, agreed to a fair process in December 2013. In March of this year an independent arbitrator certified that a majority of workers at the hotel wanted the union. The Hotel recognized the workers’ union and began bargaining with them for a contract.
On September 12 the Le Meridien workers unanimously ratified their first union contract. The contract includes gains to wages, reductions in employee health care costs and it will give workers more control over their schedules and a grievance process for addressing concerns which arise.
“We are committed to working with city leaders of Cambridge to ensure that all workers within its limits can enjoy a fair workplace,” said Local 26 President Brian Lang. “We are grateful for the help the workers received from the Cambridge community.”
The contract will bring wages and benefits of Le Meridien workers to the full Local 26 standard that is enjoyed by workers at 28 other hotels in Boston and Cambridge.
Workers cheered for the new contract. The wage increases are substantial and the cost of health insurance will be dramatically reduced. Workers currently pay 40% of their plan’s cost and will soon have family insurance for as little as $12 a week.
“Our health insurance has been so expensive, it has been hard to pay my other bills for a long time,” said housekeeper of 16 years Rosa de la Rosa. “With the raises and decrease in cost in our insurance, I will have more resources for my daughter. I know she’ll have a better future.”
Thank you again for your support in helping the Le Meridien Cambridge workers gain respect and dignity at their workplace.
Harvard Hotel Housekeepers on Strike Today in First Housekeeper Strike in Boston History
Housekeepers at the Harvard-owned Doubletree by Hilton Boston-Cambridge in Allston are on strike today. It is the first strike of housekeepers in Boston’s history.
Harvard housekeepers say they have confronted pain and sometimes life-altering injuries working at the hotel. They will speak at a public event with Harvard dining hall workers at 9:30am. Later, at 5:00pm, over 800 supporters from the Cambridge and Boston communities, including Harvard students, will join the housekeepers for a speak out.
Students and City Councilors Stand With Harvard DoubleTree Protestors
Boston.com: Employees at the Harvard-owned DoubleTree Suites have picketed, protested, and demanded fair process for the past year and a half. This means that they would like to consider unionizing without losing their jobs. Hilton Hotels manages the property, and has refused to listen to workers’ petitions, employees say. DoubleTree employees have called on Harvard to intercede. The university essentially replied ‘thanks but no thanks’ in a letter last May, despite the fact that all hotel workers who have chosen to join a union in Boston or Cambridge since 1999 have used a similar process.
RIP Mayor Menino
Mayor Menino loved and understood
working class people. He improved the lot for generations of Boston hotel and food service workers. He will always be remembered as a hero by the members of Local 26. We will miss him. Our thoughts and prayers are with Angela and the entire Menino family.
–Brian Lang, President UNITE HERE Local 26 and the Local 26 family
Cambridge Le Meridien Workers Celebrate First Union Contract
HEI, the owners of the Le Meridien Cambridge, agreed to a fair process in December 2013. In March of this year an independent arbitrator certified that a majority of workers at the hotel wanted the union. The Hotel recognized the workers’ union and began bargaining with them for a contract.
On September 12 the Le Meridien workers unanimously ratified their first union contract. The contract includes gains to wages, reductions in employee health care costs and it will give workers more control over their schedules and a grievance process for addressing concerns which arise.
“We are committed to working with city leaders of Cambridge to ensure that all workers within its limits can enjoy a fair workplace,” said Local 26 President Brian Lang. “We are grateful for the help the workers received from the Cambridge community.”
The contract will bring wages and benefits of Le Meridien workers to the full Local 26 standard that is enjoyed by workers at 28 other hotels in Boston and Cambridge.
Workers cheered for the new contract. The wage increases are substantial and the cost of health insurance will be dramatically reduced. Workers currently pay 40% of their plan’s cost and will soon have family insurance for as little as $12 a week.
“Our health insurance has been so expensive, it has been hard to pay my other bills for a long time,” said housekeeper of 16 years Rosa de la Rosa. “With the raises and decrease in cost in our insurance, I will have more resources for my daughter. I know she’ll have a better future.”
Thank you again for your support in helping the Le Meridien Cambridge workers gain respect and dignity at their workplace.
Emerson College dining workers join Local 26
The new Local 26 members look forward to collectively bargaining their first union contract. Organizing committee member and baker Donna Papastavrou said, “The work we do to feed the campus helps make Emerson strong. We are proud to be part of this community and to have stood together to win respect and a voice on the job.”
The Emerson workers join food service workers at ten other Boston area colleges and universities in Local 26 including Harvard, MIT, and Northeastern University.