"Contract Or Leave!" Demand Hilton Workers

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

Charging that the Hilton Crystal City is “violating workers’ rights,” dozens of hotel workers rallied in Northern Virginia Wednesday afternoon demanding that hotel owner Columbia Sussex “sign a fair contract or get out of town.” The workers have been without a contract since October 2007. The “last and final offer” imposed by management has “arbitrarily eliminated sick days, increased the burden of health care costs on employees, imposed layoffs and has prevented raises for more than three years,” said UNITE HERE Local 25 Organizer Mike Hachey. The workers rallied for over an hour in the asphyxiating humidity, the sound of their snare drums amplified through bullhorns as they waved signs reading “Boycott this hotel” and chanting “No justice, no peace!” Maintenance Mechanic Rafael Cruz told Union City that management is “intimidating us constantly- they force us to do twice the work with half the number of people.” He added, “In the 24 years that I have worked for the Hilton, never have I witnessed such greed and intimidation from our employer. We deserve to be treated with respect and dignity- not have our rights taken away. We all have families to take care of just like everyone else.”  Hachey told Union City that Columbia Sussex has been hit hard by the boycott – which affects eight hotels in DC, Virginia, Chicago and California –  yet they “still refuse to negotiate a fair contract.” He added, “We’re going to keep fighting until we win or they get out!” – report/photo by Adam Wright