Until last September, the 110-year old hotel had always paid wages and benefits in line with other prominent Chicago hotels. However, the owners of the Congress chose not to participate in last summer�s citywide hotel negotiations. Nearly 7,000 workers in 28 Chicago hotels won a big raise last September 1, narrowly avoiding a strike when Governor Ryan stepped in to mediate.

Instead of offering to raise wages that already were among the lowest in the nation, the New York-based owners of the Congress unilaterally implemented cutbacks. As of May 14, the Congress cut workers� wages by 7%, and have effectively eliminated healthcare and pension by refusing to pay the required monthly premiums. After the wage cut, a Congress housekeeper earned only $8.21 an hour, while other unionized housekeepers in Chicago earn $10.00.

�They managers are always telling us they want quality. Well, you can�t get quality on $8.21 an hour with no health insurance,� said Susana Dominguez, a Room Attendant.
Noting that the strike begins on Father�s Day, Jose Sanchez, a cook at the Congress for 23 years, said: �I have three daughters to support. How can I raise them on these wages with no healthcare?� �We�re ready to fight for as long as it takes,� added Henry Miller, a bartender at the Congress for 25 years. �We will stay united and show the Congress we can fight one day longer than they can. We�re doing it for our children.�

The Congress Hotel is owned by a limited partnership controlled by businessman Albert Nasser, who maintains residences in New York and Switzerland. Nasser, who does not appear to own any other hotels, is Chairman and CEO of Gelmart Industries, Inc., which manufacturers garments in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

�This is the first strike at a Chicago hotel in anyone�s memory, and it�s a shame that the Congress apparently thinks so little of Chicago,� said HERE Local 1 President Henry Tamarin. �Last week the Congress threatened to shut down again. They�ve threatened to shut down in the past. If they do shut down, so be it. If the plantation can�t survive without paying slave wages, it�s time to board up the big house. Let there be no more wage slavery in Chicago.�

Protesting the police's decision to prevent picketing directly in front of the main entrance, four people were arrested around 12:30 p.m. The four were President Tamarin, HERE Local 1 Staff Director Karen Kent, and two striking Congress workers: Sharon Williams, a telephone operator, and Lisa Langston, a Room Attendant. The Union believes the workers have a right to picket in front of the main entrance and is investigating a legal challenge to the arrests.

The Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees (HERE) Local 1 represents 14,000 hospitality workers in the Chicago area.