CHICAGO � May 19, 2003 - Nearly 500 Chicago Hotel Workers from all over downtown marched on the Congress Hotel Monday to demand justice for 140 workers at the historic property. Four separate picket lines were set up in front of the hotel, which commands an entire city block. The Congress workers� contract expired on December 31, 2002.

Congress management has declared itself �unwilling� to offer any raise.  Instead, management has declared impasse and has unilaterally implemented its final offer, which includes a 7% wage cut, the right to subcontract out all the jobs, and elimination of healthcare coverage and pension contributions.
 

�I am so angry I could spit,� said Lisa Langston, a room attendant at the Congress. �I work hard and deserve fair pay. How do they expect me to live on $8.21 an hour?� The Congress has always paid wages and benefits in line with the rest of Chicago's union hotels. However, since Sept. 1 2002 until today, a room cleaner at the neighboring Hilton has made $1,700 more than a room cleaner at the Congress. �This is a gross injustice,� said Jose Sanchez,

Congress Plaza Hotel 520 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, Illinois

The company has never indicated that it is unable to offer wage increases, only that it is �unwilling� to do so. �The Congress owners have a history of alienating people, from workers to vendors to their own customers,� said HERE Local 1 President Henry Tamarin.

�We think the Congress Hotel has shown itself to be a renegade employer, and their actions will give a black eye to the city's image as a hospitality destination,� said Tamarin.

The union has scheduled a strike vote for May 29.