Your Story is Important

Your Story is Important, originally uploaded by AjDele Photography.

At the end of the IWJ internship training we participated in the fifth anniversary of the Congress Hotel strike. Unite Here Local 1 reached an agreement with the rest of the Chicago downtown hotels for a living wage and other much needed benefits for employees five years ago. The owner of the Congress pulled out of negotiations saying that because it was one humble family owning the hotel they could not pay what some of the nationally supported chains could. Suggesting that without national support what the workers were asking would put any hotel out of business. The agreed upon hourly wage was around $13/hr, the New York rate is $18/hr. New York hotels are doing just fine.

It is kind of a mystery why the owner has held out so long. Many of the workers have moved on to other jobs but still carve out a few hours of their week to walk the picket line. Right now there are people picketing, there are a couple of people of people there all the time.

The action that day was an expanded picket line that ended up entirely circling the building. Of course the hotel has hired new people and paid them just as poorly as the people who started their strike 5 years ago. No cost of living increase.

It was good to walk with these people and others who have come to support them. I have been to several public actions, mostly war protests, none were with a union. I am not sure how I feel about unions. There is a point power gained in the organizing process can become a corrupting influence. In this case I think the union is in the right, this hotel is being ridiculous. The people who work there really ought to be able to work one job and pay their bills from it. Actually thats a pretty good principle, everyone ought to be able to work one job and pay their bills from it.