SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Hyatt hotel workers and their allies will hold demonstrations today to mark the launch of a Global Boycott of Hyatt Hotels. Hundreds of Hyatt workers and their supporters will rally and picket at the Grand Hyatt Union Square (345 Stockton Street) at 4:30pm. The far-reaching boycott is a response to the hotel company’s alleged abuse of its workers and low wages.
In San Francisco, Hyatt housekeepers will take to the streets to protest heavy workloads and chronic disrespect.
The global boycott was announced on Monday, July 23 at a press conference in Washington DC with the AFL-CIO, the NFL Players Association, the National Organization for Women (NOW), the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and others. Protests are taking place this week in 20 US cities, including San Francisco, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Chicago, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Seattle and Boston.
The global boycott marks the largest escalation to date in an ongoing campaign for basic workers’ rights. Hyatt has singled itself out as the worst employer in the hotel industry by abusing its housekeepers and other hotel workers, replacing longtime employees with minimum wage temporary workers, and imposing dangerous and health-threatening workloads on those who remain. The global boycott has also been endorsed by the IUF–the global federation of trade unions–and virtually every union representing hotel workers worldwide.
