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By Mary Hewey, on October 5th, 2011
Focus on corporate greed at Hyatt, Verizon, Bank of America
 On September 30th, 3,000 people came together from around the country and took to the streets of Boston to demand an end to corporate greed. The march was organized by the Right to the City Alliance, which is a coalition of organizations that seek to build a base of grassroots leaders in low-income, working class communities of color to challenge neo-liberal economic policies. Locally, Right to the City brought together community groups, like City Life Vida Urbana and the Chinese Progressive Association, and labor organizations, like SEIU locals and Jobs with Justice.
The march began with a rally in the Boston Commons. After hearing some inspiring words from participants in the Right to the City conference, everyone mobilized and took to the streets. The first stop on the march was the Hyatt. Last year Hyatt fired its entire housekeeping staff at three non-union hotels in the Boston area, replacing women who had worked at Hyatt for decades with temporary workers earning minimum wage. Everyone chanted “Shame on Hyatt!” as they passed
Continue reading Thousands March to Take Back Boston!
By jwjnational, on September 8th, 2011
 This week, thousands of Hyatt hotel workers in four cities nationwide–Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Honolulu—are on strike. They are on strike not only to win a fair contract at their own hotels, but to take a stand against Hyatt’s abuse of hotel workers in cities across the country.
Tell Hyatt to stop abusing workers!
Join a picket line in the cities where workers are on strike
Send a message of solidarity to Hyatt workers
Boycott these Hyatt Hotels
 Hyatt has abused its housekeepers, replacing career housekeepers with minimum wage temporary workers and imposing dangerous workloads on those housekeepers who remain. Take for example Boston, where Hyatt fired its entire housekeeping staff at three non-union hotels, replacing women who had worked at Hyatt for decades with temporary workers earning minimum wage. Hyatt even turned heat lamps on striking workers in Chicago during a brutal heat wave this July.
The people who clean, staff and help make Hyatt Hotels successful are simply seeking protections on the job.
We heard from
Continue reading Hyatt workers on strike — Take action now!
By jwjnational, on December 20th, 2010
Health & Pharmaceutical Industry, Hyatt runners-up in national contest to determine who did the most harm to workers and their families this year.
 Senator Mitch McConnell took 42% of the thousands of votes cast in Jobs with Justice’s eleventh annual national contest to determine the greediest, most cold-hearted person or company of the year. A small number of Senators, led by conservative Senate Minority leader Mitch “puppet of the rich” McConnell, have spent this Congressional session aggressively blocking almost all legislation from passing, especially laws that would help working people. McConnell could have shown great leadership to support people in need at a time when so many are struggling, but this Scrooge doesn’t care about governing or making this country a better place to live. McConnell’s goal is to do whatever is necessary to hoard power for himself and his party.
“We hope that by being elected national Scrooge of the Year, Senator McConnell will see the ‘Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come’ and understand the dire consequences that his actions will have for generations of Americans,” said Sarita Gupta, National Jobs with Justice Executive Director.
The Kentucky chapter
Continue reading Senator Mitch McConnell Elected 2010 Scrooge of the Year
By Allison Luthe, on July 29th, 2010
 For the first time in Indianapolis’s recent history, 43 participants staged a mass civil disobedience in front of the Hyatt Regency downtown. Hospitality workers and community supporters of the hotel workers were there to stand up for the Hyatt workers who have been asking management to stay neutral since November of 2008. Among the 43 were two JwJ staff members, seven steering committee members and many other JwJ pledge signers.
On June 16, reports surfaced that the Hyatt had plans to sell the Hyatt Regency in Indianapolis, adding to the uncertainty that Hyatt workers in Indianapolis already face. Over the past decade, taxpayers in Indianapolis have invested $1 billion into the development of the local hospitality industry. The hotel and convention industry in Indianapolis is booming yet at the Hyatt Indianapolis, a non-union hotel, subcontracting of jobs is rampant, hours have been reduced in recent months, and workers earn some of the lowest wages of any Hyatt workers in North America. Housekeepers at the Hyatt Indianapolis, clean
Continue reading Central Indiana JwJ supports Hyatt workers in civil disobedience action as part of nationwide protests
By Sheila R. Tully, on July 29th, 2010
 Members of Jobs with Justice San Francisco turned out in force to support UNITE HERE Local 2 hotel and restaurant workers as they took to the streets to demand a fair contract on July 22. Prior to the rally at Local 2 Plaza in downtown San Francisco, community activists, clergy, and union members packed a civil disobedience training session at Local 2 headquarters. There they reviewed plans to close the street in front of the Grand Hyatt in Union Square.
An hour later, as tourists stared in amazement and snapped photos, fifteen hundred people marched through the streets and converged on the Grand Hyatt, cheering and chanting in several languages in support of the hotel and restaurant workers. The boisterous crowd reflected the diversity of San Francisco as youth from POWER (People Organized to Win Employment Rights), PODER (People Organizing to demand Environmental and Economic Rights), Chinese Progressive Association and Young Workers United joined teachers, nurses, clergy, teamsters, longshoremen, many other union members and elected city officials to
Continue reading JwJ San Francisco Sits Down to Support Hotel Workers Rising
By jwjnational, on December 21st, 2009
The Chamber’s narrow, radical agenda advocating for anti-worker, profit-focused solutions to the broken health care, labor, and environmental systems garnered them the most votes for the national Jobs with Justice “Scrooge of the Year” award.
Thousands of votes were cast in the Jobs with Justice annual contest to determine which greedy, cold-hearted organization or person deserves the title “Scrooge of the Year.” Voters chose the Chamber of Commerce as their winner this year as it’s became increasingly clear that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has developed into a front group for a few narrow interests, not a membership association that represents the voice of mainstream American businesses. The Chamber has spent millions of dollars lobbying against legislation that would benefit workers and families like the Employee Free Choice Act, health insurance reform, paid sick days, and environmental regulations. Their extreme positions have led some companies and local chapters of the Chamber to disaffiliate from the national group.
This year’s Scrooge contest pitted the Chamber of Commerce against Bank of America, nominated for their role in the sub-prime lending crisis and failure to extend credit to small businesses, Hyatt Hotels for their Scrooge-like firing of 100 housekeepers in Boston and other
Continue reading U.S. Chamber of Commerce Elected 2009 Scrooge of the Year
By jwjnational, on December 7th, 2009
Each year, national Jobs with Justice gives an “award” to the greediest, most cold-hearted company or person of the year. Nominations for the 2009 Scrooge of the Year are in, and it’s time to vote!
 The nominees are:
Bank of America
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Hyatt Hotels
Publix Supermarkets
Student Loan Companies Sallie Mae & Citibank
or write in your own candidate
VOTE NOW!!!
This is JwJ’s tenth annual online contest to determine the national figure who does the most harm to working families. READ BELOW about why these nominees are so deserving of the title “Scrooge of the Year”.
Bank of America
Bank of America had a hand in the worst of the subprime lending excesses, providing financing to the four of the top five largest subprime lenders during the years prior to the crash including Countrywide Financial, Ameriquest, New Century Financial Corp, and First Franklin. Between them, these four firms issued over $320 billion in subprime loans from 2005-2007. As a result of these kinds of abuses, Bank of America helped crash the economy and then needed a bailout.
Bank of America accepted
Continue reading VOTE NOW for Scrooge of the Year!
By Allison Fletcher Acosta, on October 16th, 2009
Last week we told you about two campaigns that Rhode Island JwJ supported during JwJ’s economic recovery week of action – an ordinance to protect against Hyatt-style subcontracting in the Providence Convention Center District, and a union contract campaign for food service workers at Brown University where health care was a key issue.
Yesterday, Brown dining service workers voted to approve a new three-year contract that keeps health care affordable and includes 2% wage increases each year.
 Last night, the Providence City Council took a final vote to approve the Hospitality Business Protection and Worker Retention Ordinance. The ordinance will require that hospitality businesses in the district, including the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, the Rhode Island Convention Center, Veterans Memorial Auditorium, and three hotels, retain employees for at least six months in the event of a sale or subcontract of the business and maintain the prevailing wage and health insurance standards.
These victories come as “the most dangerous woman in Rhode Island moves on” and as RI JwJ welcomes a new staff person. We
Continue reading Update: Two Worker Victories in Providence
By Allison Fletcher Acosta, on October 6th, 2009
 On October 1st, surrounded by 100+ supporters of the measure from UNITE HERE Local 217 and Jobs with Justice, Providence became the first city to act since the scandal provoked by the firing of the “Hyatt 100” in Boston. These 100 housekeepers were left with no jobs when three Boston Hyatt Hotels replaced them in with low-wage subcontractors.
The Providence City Council, taking the first of two required votes, voted unanimously to approve an ordinance to protect against Hyatt-style subcontracting in the Providence Convention Center District. The Hospitality Business Protection and Worker Retention Ordinance will require that hospitality businesses in the district retain employees for at least six months in the event of a sale or subcontract of the business and maintain the prevailing wage and health insurance standards.
Councilman Solomon introduced the legislation:
I am proud to be working to protect Providence workers from Hyatt-style layoffs. Our cities have invested massive public resources to build the tourism industry. In return tourism employers should provide good middle class jobs, whether at the Hyatt in Boston
Continue reading Providence City Council Votes to Protect Against Hyatt-style Subcontracting
By rand wilson, on October 5th, 2009
The figures are staggering. Unemployment is at 9.1 percent and new unemployment claims continue to increase. By one measure, real unemployment and underemployment are double the official rate. According to the Labor Department, job seekers now outnumber openings by six to one!
 That’s why more than 1,000 union members, unemployed workers, students, clergy and community leaders came together for an October 1 march and rally to highlight the growing jobs crisis. The group protested on the Boston Common, at Verizon’s New England headquarters and at the Hyatt Regency Hotel against a corporate agenda that has left far too many workers behind.
Eighty labor and community groups sponsored the march and rally. Accompanying the march was the IBEW Local 103 One Hundred and Third Drum and Bagpipe Band and the Somerville Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society Marching Band.
The action also focused on how big banks have misused our tax dollars. So far, few of the hundreds of billions in taxpayer money that went to the big banks have reached Main Street. Robert Haynes, President of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO
Continue reading Boston Workers March for an Economy That Works for Everyone
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