Dozens Arrested Protesting Workplace Injuries at West Hollywood Hyatt

Jul 26th, 2011 | By Paul Russell Laverack | Category: English-language stories, Entrevistas, Trabajadores / Labor, Videos Tweet

By PAUL MAVERICK
POLITICAL MUSCLE

Hundreds of hotel workers and their allies in clergy, civil society and the general populace converge on the Hyatt Andaz luxury hotel in West Hollywood, California, on Thursday, July 21, 2011 to protest Hyatt’s inattention to abnormally high injury rates among their housekeepers. The hotel workers – who are members of UNITE HERE Local 11, the international hotel and restaurant employees union – stage a protest in the center of Sunset Boulevard. They shut down traffic as several housekeepers – who normally labor invisibly – perform their work tasks in the middle of the street at rush hour, inviting the world to see the hazards they face on the job.

The Los Angeles Police Department and West Hollywood Sheriffs Department arrest 24 protestors, which does not deter the rest of the crowd from continuing to march and picket against Hyatt’s unsafe business practices.

Tags: activism, activist, andaz, arrest, boycott, California, clergy, community, dignity, hotel, hotel workers, hotelworkers, housekeepers, hyatt, john wilhelm, labor, local 11, Los Angeles, march, picket, police, protest, respect, rights, street theater, union, unite here, unsafe, weho, west hollywood, workplace

One Comment to “Dozens Arrested Protesting Workplace Injuries at West Hollywood Hyatt”

1. Arpi Movsesian says:

   03/08/2011 at 12:18 am

   And imagine I wanted to book Hyatt for a trip! What a shame!

   This protest was so well-organized! As I say this, I feel awkward categorizing protests, and complimenting protests. After all, why should people be treated so degradingly for them to protest in the first place, and then for me to point out the positives of it? But that’s reality, and this is how those workers will get answers and improvements at job sites! The demonstrations with the housekeepers, and taped mouths were perfect! We’re a visual culture, and those scenes are effective and portray reality. Also, the arrests–again, what an odd thing to say–but I must say it–GREAT! Silence won’t get you anywhere–you need to shout, get arrested, show them that those pigs sitting on cash have cut to the bone!

   Also, good work, Paul!