Hotel Workers Fight Back

While Democratic visitors inside the posh Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel gussied themselves up for yesterday evening's events, dozens of hotel workers and hundreds of supporters rallied outside the hotel for their right to organize. Taking advantage of this week's national spotlight on Los Angeles to publicize their struggle, the rally, which was sponsored by the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, Local 814, included appearances by Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, and Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Attempts to organize Loews' three hundred low-income workers took off last year after a contentious labor dispute with another luxury Santa Monica hotel, the Fairmont Miramar, was settled. The Loews' workers formed an organizing committee which went public on May 25, 2000 with a rally and a campaign to educate fellow workers about the benefits of a union. Loews immediately clamped down on their efforts.

According to workers, they were subjected to relentless threats and intimidation by the management aimed at deterring them from unionizing. The hotel hired union-busting firm Cruz & Associates, which had previously led the anti-union campaign at the Fairmont Miramar, and held meetings in which workers were forced to listen to anti-union admonishments. Workers who spoke at the rally said they were forbidden from talking about wages amongst each other, and from wearing pro-union buttons. HERE has filed 22 charges against Loews alleging violations of labor law, and the workers have remained steadfast in their organizing efforts.

Sunday's rally was a peaceful affair heightened with gospel singing and upbeat chants of "Si se puede," or "Yes we can." Mothers brought their children, and all of the speeches were translated into Spanish. Rally organizers made it clear through flyers and announcements that they were not calling for a boycott of Loews Hotel during the convention, but rather asking hotel guests to support the workers by wearing buttons and signing an Open Letter to Loews Hotel Corporation.

The only threatening aspect of the rally, in fact, was its outlandish police presence. Standing blockade-style in front of Loews' pristine landscaping and circular valet drive was a row of police officers in full riot gear, their helmet covers down and their batons in hand. Mounted police hemmed in the rally with their horses, and a handful of men with dark sunglasses and earpieces stood silent amidst the crowd.

Senator Paul Wellstone cited his own history of defending immigrant workers in Minnesota, and earned exuberant applause when he announced an amendment he plans to add to the highly controversial China trade bill which would enforce workers' rights to organize. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer spoke as well, denouncing Loews' union-busting tactics.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney focused on the glaring social stratification between the class of people who own and patronize Loews' Santa Monica Beach Hotel, and the workers who keep it running. "Behind me you see great wealth and great beauty. People are relaxing in the sunshine, eating, drinking and enjoying life. Meanwhile, behind the glitz of this hotel, there are other people cleaning toilets, washing dishes and making beds," he said. "How can a hotel rent a room for $250 a night and pay workers five dollars to clean that room? This company has no dignity, this conglomerate knows no shame."

The conglomerate to which Sweeney referred was the hotel's parent company, Loews Corporation, which also owns Diamond Offshore Drilling, one of the world's largest offshore oil drilling companies, and Lorillard Inc., the manufacturer of Newport cigarettes. Another corporate link which contributed to the timing of yesterday's rally is the fact that Loews' Hotels CEO Jonathan Tisch is a major contributor to Al Gore's presidential campaign, and -- rumor has it -- the designated chair of his inaugural committee. Fellow Democrats asserted that Tisch should immediately end the dispute between the hotel and its workers in accordance with Democratic pro-labor principles.