UNITE-HERE Local 2 calls for San Francisco hotel boycott

SAN FRANCISCO — Hundreds of members of the UNITE-HERE Local 2 are calling for a boycott of two San Francisco hotels: The HEI Le Meridien and the Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf, according to the San Francisco Bay Area Independent.


Workers at these hotels are seeking more respect, better job security and better livelihoods for themselves and their families and want management to respect their choice whether or not to form a union through the majority sign-up process, the story stated.


Peter Ho, a lobby porter who has worked at HEI’s Le Meridien for 19 years, said: "We want the same opportunities as other hotel workers in San Francisco. If it’s good enough for workers at other hotels, why not for us? We’ve given years of service to these hotels. We just want respect."


Despite repeated efforts by workers to adopt the majority sign-up process, HEI and Hyatt have both refused; similar efforts are under way at other hotels, including the HEI Hilton in Long Beach, the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara, and the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis, the story noted.


Over 340 hospitality workers and their families at these two San Francisco hotels face unfair layoffs, unaffordable health care and a lack of respect on the job, the story added.