The Graduate Student Council unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday evening pledging to support workers at the DoubleeTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Boston if they decide to call for a boycott of the hotel, which is housed in a University-owned building in Allston.
The resolution, which is nearly identical to one passed by the Undergraduate Council earlier this week, calls upon the graduate body to urge relevant Harvard administrators to support fair process as workers decide whether or not to unionize.
According to Gabriel H. Bayard ’15, a member of the Student Labor Action Movement who spoke at the regularly scheduled GSC meeting Wednesday evening, some DoubleTree workers plan on asking potential patrons to boycott the hotel on March 27.
“I think the resolution itself was well composed, completely sound, and reasonable,” said Summer A. Shafer, president of the Graduate Student Council.
Bayard said that he was “ecstatic” at the outcome of the vote.
“We think this symbolizes that the Harvard community is behind [the Student Labor Action Movement],” he said.
SLAM’s next step is to solicit support from more student groups, according to member Zoe A. Onion. A SLAM press release Wednesday said that the GSC joins 16 other student groups in endorsing the DoubleTree workers’ demands.
The group said it plans to meet with Harvard Labor Relations Director Bill Murphy within the next month to discuss the matter.
After the resolution passed, Shafer applauded the council for its action.
“I think everyone in this room should pat themselves on the back,” Shafer said to a crowd of more than 70 people.
The resolution was presented to the council after a speech by DoubleTree worker Sandra Hernandez, who discussed her personal financial situation with those in attendance.
Hernandez, who spoke to the group with the aid of a translator, described her own inability to afford healthcare for members of her family on her current salary. She said she has worked at the hotel for 22 years.
“I think having a worker present made it a living, breathing issue and not an abstract intellectual exercise,” said Shafer, who teared up while reading the resolution aloud. “It affected me very personally and deeply because what they’re doing is incredibly brave and what they’re facing is incredibly harsh.”
The meeting also featured a number of smaller discussion items, including the formation of an ad hoc committee on Dudley Cafe and the approval of funding for graduate student groups.
Lesley food service workers ratify first union contract
Food service workers at Lesley University in Cambridge have ratified their first union contract, which increases their wages by about $1.20 an hour in the first year and $3.40 over three years.
Currently, the 85 cooks, dishwashers, servers, and cashiers make $12 an hour, on average.
The contract also cuts workers’ health insurance premiums in half and doubles the number of annual paid sick days, to six.
The workers, who are employed by a contractor, Bon Appetit Management Co., join 800 other cafeteria workers from Northeastern University, Harvard Law School, and other local colleges who have joined the hospitality workers’ union Unite Here Local 26 over the past two years.
About 7,000 hotel, restaurant, and airport workers in the Boston area are members of Unite Here.
“I’ve worked two and three jobs but have still worried about losing my home,” Radames Moran, a cook at Lesley, said in a statement. “This contract will give me space to plan for the future.”
Brian Lang Testifies in Favor of Safe Driving
On March 5, Local 26 President Brian Lang testified in favor of Safe Driving legislation at the Massachusetts State House.
Graduate Student Council Passes DoubleTree Resolution
The Graduate Student Council unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday evening pledging to support workers at the DoubleeTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Boston if they decide to call for a boycott of the hotel, which is housed in a University-owned building in Allston.
The resolution, which is nearly identical to one passed by the Undergraduate Council earlier this week, calls upon the graduate body to urge relevant Harvard administrators to support fair process as workers decide whether or not to unionize.
According to Gabriel H. Bayard ’15, a member of the Student Labor Action Movement who spoke at the regularly scheduled GSC meeting Wednesday evening, some DoubleTree workers plan on asking potential patrons to boycott the hotel on March 27.
“I think the resolution itself was well composed, completely sound, and reasonable,” said Summer A. Shafer, president of the Graduate Student Council.
Bayard said that he was “ecstatic” at the outcome of the vote.
“We think this symbolizes that the Harvard community is behind [the Student Labor Action Movement],” he said.
SLAM’s next step is to solicit support from more student groups, according to member Zoe A. Onion. A SLAM press release Wednesday said that the GSC joins 16 other student groups in endorsing the DoubleTree workers’ demands.
The group said it plans to meet with Harvard Labor Relations Director Bill Murphy within the next month to discuss the matter.
After the resolution passed, Shafer applauded the council for its action.
“I think everyone in this room should pat themselves on the back,” Shafer said to a crowd of more than 70 people.
The resolution was presented to the council after a speech by DoubleTree worker Sandra Hernandez, who discussed her personal financial situation with those in attendance.
Hernandez, who spoke to the group with the aid of a translator, described her own inability to afford healthcare for members of her family on her current salary. She said she has worked at the hotel for 22 years.
“I think having a worker present made it a living, breathing issue and not an abstract intellectual exercise,” said Shafer, who teared up while reading the resolution aloud. “It affected me very personally and deeply because what they’re doing is incredibly brave and what they’re facing is incredibly harsh.”
The meeting also featured a number of smaller discussion items, including the formation of an ad hoc committee on Dudley Cafe and the approval of funding for graduate student groups.
UC Debates DoubleTree Labor Dispute
The Undergraduate Council passed legislation relating to a labor dispute between workers and DoubleTree Suites, gender-neutral housing, and the transparency of the UC budget during its general meeting on Sunday.
During the meeting, members from the Student Labor Action Movement group and workers from DoubleTree Suites asked the Council to openly support future efforts to create better working conditions. Although Harvard owns the DoubleTree building, Hilton Hotel Boston runs and manages day-to-day operations.
According to undergraduates from SLAM, DoubleTree workers are planning to boycott the business in an attempt to affect change.
The legislation presented asked the Council to inform UC grant recipients that it would support a boycott and to pressure administrators to support the workers’ requests. The proposal also requested that the UC send a mass email to undergraduates asking them to stop patronizing the hotel if Harvard does not publicly support the demands of the workers by April 1.
UC representatives were not immediately sure whether they had enough information to hand down a decision on the labor dispute or whether it was even within their purview to support the measure.
According to SLAM member Gabriel H. Bayard ’15, University President Drew G. Faust has denied that Harvard has any ties to the management of the hotel. Bayard, however, said he disagreed.
“We know that Harvard has a deep relationship with the DoubleTree hotel,” Bayard said after the meeting.
After an extended question and answer period, followed by an open debate, the UC eventually called the question to vote. The Council added an amendment insisting that the UC would only support a boycott if the majority of DoubleTree workers do so as well. A second amendment clarified language pertaining to the goals of the workers.
Both amendments passed with broad support.
The deliberations, however, prompted disagreement among Council members. Cabot Representative Tyler W. Creamer ’16, an inactive Crimson business editor who voted against the measure, said after the meeting that the labor issue is not under the jurisdiction of the UC, though he supports the workers and feels they might deserve more compensation.
“The UC’s purview is mostly to focus on student issues, and I don’t think this counts as a student issue,” Creamer said.
UNITE HERE Local 26 is pleased to endorse Dan Ryan for State Representative
UNITE HERE Local 26 is pleased to endorse Dan Ryan for State Representative of the Second Suffolk District. As District Representative for Congressman Mike Capuano, Dan worked with Local 26 to ensure hotel and food service jobs were good jobs. Dan knows that the economic development we see downtown needs to translate into economic development for the working families of Charlestown and Chelsea. That is why Local 26 is proud to endorse Dan Ryan for State Representative.
Please VOTE TUESDAY, MARCH 4. Polls open 7 AM to 8 PM
For more information call Jaimie McNeil at 617 832-6643