VICTORY TO SAN FRANCISCO HOTEL WORKERS!
10/3/04 STATEMENT BY STEVE ZELTZER
CANDIDATE FOR SF DISTRICT 9 SUPERVISOR


Dear Residents of District 9,

Today, thousands of our brothers and sisters in the hotels are on the picket line fighting for the right to healthcare for themselves and their families and the right to a decent wage. We know that it is growing ever more difficult for working people to survive in San Francisco.
They are facing some of the richest and biggest corporations in the world with profits of billions of dollars. These corporations are united but they refuse to allow hotel workers around the country to unite and have a single expiration date for their contracts. They want to be able to bring in scabs to San Francisco to break the hotel workers union.
I believe that the City Of San Francisco should support their struggle. Under Article 9.5 Section 650-654 under San Francisco’s Criminal Code it is illegal to bring in professional strike breakers to replace workers. I call on Mayor Newsom and District Attorney Kamala Harris to immediately investigate and challenge the strike breakers who have been brought into San Francisco to defeat the strike action and support the lock-out. Call Mayor Newsom and District Attorney Harris and ask them to enforce the law.
Furthermore, I believe that the city should have an ordinance preventing companies from replacing workers who go out on strike. If elected I will submit legislation to the Board to implement this need.
The action by Unite-HERE members must be supported by all working people. They are fighting against the growing attack on all our health care. In California with 6 million people without healthcare insurance, a defeat for Local 2 members will mean a threat to all those including workers and their families who presently have healthcare. These multi-billionaire hotel chain owners do not care whether you or I have healthcare but only how they can increase their super profits.

WHAT WE CAN DO NOW!
To Support the striking and locked out workers: Join them on the picket line at
Mark Hopkins, Crown Plaza, San Francisco Hilton, Grand Hyatt, Holiday Inn/Civic Center Holiday Inn/Express@Wharf, Holiday Inn/Fisherman’s Wharf, Hyatt Regency, OMNI Palace Hotel, St. Francis Hotel
Call these hotels at their 800 number's and ask them why they can’t afford to pay healthcare for their workers.
Get your union, church or community organization to adopt a hotel to support the workers.
Organize weekly support pickets and bring food for the workers.
Support mass marches and pickets to shutdown San Francisco to win this strike and help all other workers from the supermarket clerks to airline workers who now face healthcare cuts, pension cuts and two tier wages.


OUR SOLIDARITY CAN WIN THIS BATTLE
WITH THE CORPORATE ROBBER BARONS

For more information on my campaign go to
http://www.stevefor9.org