Boston Hotel Workers Rising!

Hotel workers in Boston voted 1,013 to 27  to authorize a boycott and strike at the Sheraton Boston, Boston Park Plaza, Westin Waterfront Hotel, and Westin Copley Place.  The housekeepers, bellmen and other hotel workers are members of UNITE HERE Local 26 and they've been in talks with Starwood Hotels since last November to negotiate a new contract.  Key issues in dispute are annual wage increases, a pension plan, and workload, which currently requires housekeepers to clean 16 rooms per shift. (See here and here for more on hazards for housekeepers.)  

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