July 24, 2002 - Over 7,000 downtown and suburban hotel workers represented by the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) Locals 1 and 450 will go to the negotiating table on August 5 to bargain an agreement covering 31 hotels. The current contract expires August 31.

Henry Tamarin, President of Local 1 and chief negotiator for the union, stated: "These negotiations will be historic. Chicago's hotel workers have worked for too little for too long, and this year it's time to catch up. Chicago is a great hotel town. We're the crossroads of North America with a vibrant community that welcomes conventions, business travelers and tourists. Our members work hard and deserve much better." 

In Chicago, a room attendant makes $8.83 per hour. In New York City, room attendants doing the same work for the same companies make $18.15. In San Francisco, they earn $14.34. In Washington D.C., they earn $12.19, and in Boston, $12.03. 

Critical for all workers is decent health care for themselves and their families. Chicago hotel workers have to pay $85 a month for family health care. In New York, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, family health insurance is free for hotel workers. In San Francisco, workers pay only $10 per month for family coverage.

"We don't want a strike," said Tamarin. "It will be tough for the city and tough for us. Our members have learned from the past. They know they have to be united, strong and ready. 'Hungry for Justice' is our campaign to be ready and we're asking the community to help. If we have to strike we'll need food for ourselves and for our families.

"This strike food warehouse, graciously donated by Teamsters Local 705 and its leader Jerry Zero, will be filled up by August 31. We're reaching out to every segment of the community for help and they're responding. In the past week over forty churches, unions and community groups responded, and by next week, we'll be talking to hundreds more. With their help we'll be ready. We won't let the hotels starve us out.

"Hotel workers are poor. The companies they work for are billion dollar corporations. When our members can't afford healthcare for their families they go on public assistance. The taxpayers are footing the bill. That's wrong, and we'll fight for a fair contract one way or the other. Business is down, but it's our members who were laid off - not the executives. It's our members who are working harder because the hotels have reduced staff to make a few more bucks. 

"From 1997 to 2001, the hotels made more money than ever in history. They kept it. It's time to share."

Tamarin added, "We wanted to start negotiations in May. Management told us July, and then last month changed it to August. We think it is disrespectful to the workers and the community to delay, but we'll do the best we can. August 31st is our deadline. It has been that date for five years."