top
San Francisco
San Francisco
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

Hotel Strike:Stop Scab Labor Ads; Build A Labor Movement

by Mother Jones
The good news is that the scab hotels are practically empty! The mass picketlines with their fabulous drum corps and our material support have been a success this first week. However, there is still no union contract and thus there is still a lot of work to do, including stopping scab ads and providing material support.
The good news is that the scab hotels are practically empty! The mass picketlines with their fabulous drum corps and our material support have been a success this first week. However, there is still no union contract and thus there is still a lot of work to do, including stopping scab ads and providing material support.

A labor strike/lockout at San Francisco hotels is serious.

First, this lockout is clearly union-busting which can never be tolerated, and at a time when labor is only 12% organized, and the private sector is hardly organized at all, this is disastrous.

Second, a labor movement is crucial to changing the political direction in this country from promoting war, fascism and prison to promoting peace, civil liberties and education.

Third, the hotels are part of the tourist industry, the most important part of San Francisco’s economy on which many jobs and city services depend. For example, the tax on every hotel guest’s bill pays for Grants for the Arts on which all of the arts groups from the San Francisco Opera to local theater, dance and music groups depend.

Fourth, San Francisco is central to the economy of the entire Bay Area, the fourth largest metropolitan area in the U.S.

Thus, we must embrace this hotel strike with every ounce of our political commitment. There are many things we all can do.

(1)The San Francisco Chronicle’s website, http://www.sfgate.com/jobs in the Top Jobs section, has an ad for scab labor at the Westin St. Francis under Hotels. PLEASE CALL THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE and demand they cancel this ad. Please call 415.777.7777 or 866.732.4766 X777 or 415.777.6333 or Email classifieds [at] sfgate.com

(2) BRING FOOD TO THE PICKETLINE. Winter came early to San Francisco this year and the downtown area where most of the hotels are is at least 10 degrees colder than most of the City, and feels much colder when you are walking round and round on the hard, cold cement. If you love to cook and bake, now is your time to rise and shine. Be sure to bring paper plates and plastic utensils with your cookies and casseroles. When you go shopping each week, pick up some extra bread, bagels, rolls, pastry and bottled water and bring it to any picketline . Hot coffee, tea and hot chocolate (with paper cups, sugar and cream) are always needed too. Any amount is much appreciated. Every picketline has a table for food and beverage.

(3)BUILDING A LABOR MOVEMENT IS LIKE SUPPORTING FAMILY
If you belong to a union or social organization, have your group adopt a hotel or some hotels and bring food and beverage as often as you can to the picketlines at those hotels. Those of you who are able, walk the picketlines for whatever time you have. The fabulous drum corps at all the picketlines could use some brass additions once in a while. You could teach all the verses to Solidarity Forever, the International, the Banks are Made of Marble, all other labor favorites, and hopefully, compose new labor songs. Most of our “Movement” songs of the 1960s peace and civil rights movement came from the labor movement of the 1930s. This is the 21st Century’s first labor movement, and we have to win to save the earth and our own lives.

The picketlines are at :
(from http://www.hotellaboradvisor.info/hotelguidestrike.asp)
Argent Hotel (50 Third Street near Market)
Crowne Plaza Union Square (Sutter and Powell)
Fairmont Hotel (California and Mason)
Four Seasons (757 Market between 3rd and 4th Sts)
Grand Hyatt (345 Stockton at Sutter)
Hilton (333 O'Farrell at Mason)
Holiday Inn Civic Center (50 Eighth St at Market)
Holiday Inn Express at Fish Wharf (550 Northpoint)
Holiday Inn at Fish Wharf (1300 Columbus)
Hyatt Regency(Market at Embarcadero)
Mark Hopkins (California and Mason)
Omni San Francisco (500 California)
Sheraton Palace (Market and New Montgomery)
St. Francis (Powell and Geary)
Add Your Comments
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network