open the gates of justice

7/31/2019 Open the Gates of Justice

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A Clergy Report on Working Conditions at Hyatt Hotels

Ju sti ce at Hya tt www.justiceathyatt.org www.hotelworkersrising.org [email protected]
http://www.justiceathyatt.org/http://www.hotelworkersrising.org/mailto:contact%40justiceathyatt.org?subject=mailto:contact%40justiceathyatt.org?subject=http://www.hotelworkersrising.org/http://www.justiceathyatt.org/


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O P E N T H E G AT E S O F J U S T I C E

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ParticipantsTis investigation was conducted by Jewish clergy and community leaderswho have pledged to honor Hyatt boycotts. Te ollowing Jewish clergy andlocal community leaders participated in interviews with Hyatt workers inten cities across country: Mr. Donald Armstrong, Ms. Marya Axner, RabbiLinda Bertenthal, Cantor Michael Davis, Rabbi Larry Edwards, RabbiBruce Elder, Rabbi Jonathan Klein, Rabbi Peter Knobel, Rabbi John Linder,

Rabbi Jane Rachel Litman, Ms. Susan Lubeck, Rabbi Victor Mirelman,Rabbi Barbara Penzner, Ms. Jane Ramsey and Rabbi Julie Saxe- aller.Grate ul acknowledgment is extended to the ollowing members o otherreligious groups, who participated in the interviews: Rev. B.J. Birkhahn-Rommel anger, Bishop Otis Charles, Ms. Kim Bobo, Father Edward Dura,Rev. C.J. Hawking, and Rev. Calvin Morris.

Interviews were conducted with over 30 Hyatt workers rom both unionand non-union hotels rom Boston, Massachusetts; Burlingame, Cali ornia,

Chicago, Illinois; Honolulu, Hawaii; Indianapolis, Indiana; Los Angeles,Cali ornia; San Antonio, exas; San Francisco, Cali ornia; Santa Clara,Cali ornia; and Scottsdale, Arizona.

For more in ormation, contact us at www.justiceathyatt.org or email us [email protected] .

Supporting documentation or this report can be ound at

www.justiceathyatt.org .
http://www.justiceathyatt.org/mailto:contact%40justiceathyatt.org?subject=http://www.justiceathyatt.org/http://www.justiceathyatt.org/mailto:contact%40justiceathyatt.org?subject=http://www.justiceathyatt.org/


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A C L E R G Y R E P O R T O N W O R K I N G C O N D I T I O N S AT H YAT T H O

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Table of ContentsSummary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Te Hyatt Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Outsourcing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Health and Sa ety Concerns or Hyatt Housekeepers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Hyatts Inter erence in Union Organizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Solidarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Judaism and the Equitable Workplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33


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SummaryAs aith leaders, we believe that we have a moral responsibility to promote the justand ethical treatment o workers, and to intervene when power ul individuals orinstitutions seek to undermine their undamental right as workers and as humanbeings. We have watched with deep dismay in recent years,as Hyatt, a multi-billion dollar corporation, has eliminated jobs, replaced career housekeepers with minimum wage

temporary workers, and imposed dangerous workloadson those who remain. Te most vivid dramatization o Hyatts actions came one day in August 2009, when Hyattsummarily red nearly 100 housekeepers rom threeBoston-area hotels, replacing longtime housekeepers withnew ones rom a temporary agency at ar lower rates o pay.Hyatts actions sounded alarm among religious leaders inBoston and beyond, prompting action by aith leaders and

urther inquiry into Hyatts treatment o workers at otherhotels across North America.

Tis report, the result o direct conversations with Hyattworkers across the U.S., details a broader practice by Hyattthat we nd contrary to the religious traditions we uphold. We have ound thatHyatt has undermined the sa ety and stability o jobs by subcontracting work andincreasing housekeeping workload to dangerous levels. Moreover, we have oundthat in re using to remain neutral as non-union Hyatt employees organize, Hyatt

has attempted to thwart the e orts by non-union hotel workers to improve theirlives and exercise their undamental right as workers to collectively bargain. We ndthese practices to be oppression against workers. In the Jewish legal tradition, theJewish clergy identi y this mistreatment o workers as the Biblical prohibition oshek.

We call on Hyatt to directly hire its workers, pay them a living wage, re rain rominter ering when workers organize or a voice in their workplace decisions, and

Workers at 18 Hyatt

Hotels across the United

States and Canada have

called or boycotts o the

hotels where they work.

We pledge to treat the

Hyatt as lo kasher/not

kosher or events and celebrations until it treats

its workers with justice.


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embrace the solidarity o workers across hotels rather than trying to divideworkers rom one another.

We believe that a more democratic and equitable industry in which workers andemployers collectively determine wages and working conditions is a blessingthat Hyatt should embrace. We are humbled by the commitment that workershave expressed or each other. We are inspired by their willingness to sacri ceso that they and their coworkers in hotels across the country will have thepower to make the hospitality industry accountable to them as equals with their

employers. We pray that God may bless their solidarity.

Workers at 18 Hyatt Hotels across the United States and Canada have called orboycotts o the hotels where they work. We pledge to honor their boycotts. TeJewish clergy pledge to treat the Hyatt as lo kasher/not kosher or events andcelebrations until it treats its workers with justice.


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IntroductionLevi Yitzhak rom Berdichev declared all the matzahmade in the town actory trai /unsuitable or Passover use.Do you not see the young girlswho work or pennies orced to bake rom dusk to dawnso you can east while they go hungry never mind the lonely dark miles to and rom home.Not Kosher! Te women still repeat his single line o prayer:Ribbono Shel Olum, give a power to everyone exhausted

rom a poem by Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb

On August 31, 2009, all 98 housekeepers at the Hyatt Corporationsthree Boston area hotels were red in one day and all housekeeping wasoutsourced to Hospitality Sta ng Solutions. Many o the red housekeepershad worked or Hyatt or over 20 years. Many were required to train their

While Hyatts actions may be legal, they are based on animmoral approach to making pro ts.

Rabbi Barbara Penzner


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replacements be ore being red, beingtold that their trainees were vacationreplacements. Be ore being red, thehousekeepers had made about $15 anhour plus bene ts and cleaned 16 rooms aday. Housekeepers at Hospitality Sta ngSolutions (HSS) start at the minimum wageo $8.00 per hour. Tey reportedly receive

I gave my strength, my honesty and my youth to that job or 20 years and this is how Hyatt pays us.Everything we have, we put there.Hyatt should be ashamed o what they did to us.

red Boston Hyatt Housekeeper


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The Torah commands us You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer (Deut. 24:14), and the Rabbis later teach that employees have a right toorganize and demand just conditions and compensation or their labor (Tose ta Bava Metzia 11:24).

We cannot stand idly by as the housekeepers and hotel workers o the Hyatt Hotels stand to lose their hard won and air compensation. The call to pursue justice (Deut. 16:20) demands that we stand with these workers so that they dont slip into poverty.

There ore, we, the undersigned concerned rabbis, cantors, and community leaders, call on the owners and leadership o Hyatt Hotels to commit to the Jewish and universal obligations to treat workers airly and to recognize thevalue o their labor. We call on all Jewish institutions and individuals to support Hyatt workers in their disputes, and we express our willingness to boycott Hyatt properties in support o these principles i requested to do so by the a ected workers.

rom An Appeal or Justice at Hyatt, a boycott pledge signedby 300 Jewish clergy and community leaders.


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no sick days, vacation days, health care or pension, and they are required toclean up to 30 rooms a day.

In response to Hyatt managements actions, the rabbinic cabinet o theNew England Jewish Labor Committee, led by Rabbi Barbara Penzner,spearheaded a community support e ort calling on Hyatt to hire back its

red housekeepers. Te Jewish Labor Committee launched a boycott o the three Boston area Hyatt Hotels, which was soon endorsed by about 300


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rabbis, the Central Con erence o American Rabbis and the Governor o Massachusetts.

Many o us initially endorsed the boycott because we were appalledthat Hyatt red its entire housekeeping sta in one day. But subsequent

events led us to extend our concern toHyatts treatment o all o its workersthroughout its hotels. In a meeting withRabbi Penzner and other clergy, Hyatt

management said that it regretted the way that it replaced its Boston housekeepersbut that subcontracting was part o itsbusiness model. We have since talked with

We have extended the boycott toall Hyatt hotels where workers havecalled or a boycott and call on our colleagues to do the same.


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many Hyatt and HSS workers and have learned o Hyatts pervasive use o subcontracting at its non-union hotels and its inter erence and oppositionto workers organizing. By contrast, both Hilton and Starwood hotel chainshave agreed to employer neutrality at many properties when workersorganize.

Hyatt chose to re its Boston housekeepers on August 31, 2009, the sameday that labor contracts at union Hyatt hotels in Chicago expired. Laboragreements in San Francisco expired two

weeks earlier and contracts in Los Angelesexpired at the end o November. Workersnaturally took this as an indication thatthey were next.

As a result o these concerns, and becauseo requests rom workers at several unionand non-union Hyatt hotels, as well asour understanding o the texts o ourtraditions that address the power disparity between employers and employeesby calling or a living wage and realparticipation by workers in the determination o their compensation andworking conditions, we have extended the boycott to all Hyatt hotels whereworkers have called or a boycott and call on our colleagues to do the same.

Tis report is our explanation o why we have joined with workers to call

or justice at Hyatt and why we think that acting in solidarity with workersis essential i we are to achieve a more air and equitable society. We aremind ul that i Hyatt had not red all o its Boston housekeepers in oneday, many o us might not have gotten involved. Te extreme income andwealth inequality in the United States is alarming to us. Yet, subcontracting

The General Manager addressed us:The hotel is not making money. We

are eliminating the housekeeping position. Any questions? I asked:How are we going to take care o

our children?

red Boston Hyatt Housekeeper


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and other means o driving workers wages down to the minimum has beengoing on or decades without clergy boycotts.

It is part o the purpose o this report to challenge the complacency thatwe and the mainstream religious community have previously exhibited tothese business practices, to identi y these practice as oshek/oppression, andto propose steps that we, as people o aith, can do to stand in solidarity with workers as they challenge their employers to live up to the ideals set by

our religious traditions or more equitable

workplaces and a more equitable society.

Afer a brie introduction to the HyattCorporation, we describe Hyatts businesspractice o outsourcing jobs and how this harms workers. We describe Hyattsopposition to union organizing, andwe take a close look at how Hyatt treatshousekeepers, who do the hardest jobs inthe hotel industry. We also describe the

extraordinary level o worker solidarity in the hotels and the e orts o Hyattto divide workers rom each other. Included in our report is an explorationo a stream o texts within the Jewish tradition in which workerscompensation and working conditions are presumptively un air unlessthey are determined through collective bargaining. Tis section synthesizesmany o the core principles and religious texts that have led us to concludethat Hyatt practices are oshek/oppression against workers. As such, the

Jewish Clergy pledge to treat Hyatt as lo kasher/not kosher until it treats itsworkers with justice. Our report closes with our recommendations to Hyatt

or change.

Hyatt practices are oshek/ oppression against workers. As such, the Jewish Clergy pledge to treat Hyatt as lokasher/not kosher until it treatsits workers with justice.


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The Hyatt CorporationAs o year end 2010, the HyattCorporation owned, managed or

ranchised 325 hotels in North Americaand Hawaii and 453 hotels throughoutthe world. In 2010, Hyatt had $1.6 billiondollars in cash and short term investments

and reported pro ts o $66 million.In 2010 its CEO Mark Hoplomazianreceived total compensation o $6 milliondollars, an increase o 63% rom his 2009compensation.

Until 2009, Hyatt was privately owned by thePritzker amily, one o the richest amilies in theUnited States, with 11 members on the Forbes 400list. In 2009 the amily took Hyatt public. Pritzker

amily members received $900 million dollarsas part o the public o ering. Earlier this year,Hyatt itsel purchased almost $400 million wortho shares rom certain Pritzker amily members.Each share retained by the Pritzker amily counts

or ten normal shares so the Pritzkers have adominant voting majority in the company. Many

members o the Pritzker amily are active in theJewish community and they are known or theirsupport o charitable causes.

Hyatt is building its thrivingbusiness on the backs o workerswho are increasingly expected todo more work or less pay.

Rabbi Larry Edwards

Mr. Gutierrez sees that now Hyatt has begun to hire a lot o part-timers, who dont even make asmuch as he does and have nohealth care or other bene ts.Some o these people are onwel are even though they areworking. Hyatt policies create asystem where taxpayers pay or health care or Hyatt workers.That isnt air to anyone. They are poor corporate citizens.

Rabbi Jane Rachel Litman


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Outsourcing: Hyatts BusinessModelTe story o the Hyatt 100 in Boston represents one dramatic example o how Hyatt has turned to outsourcing agencies to sta its hotels, replacingits own employees with those rom temporary agencies at lower rates o pay and bene ts. In other Hyatt hotels such as those in Indianapolis and

San Antonio, Hyatt has been slowly subcontracting out directly employed jobs, so that now about hal o all housekeeping positions areoutsourced.

As part o our investigation,members o the clergy committeemet with employees, who work atHyatt hotels, but are supplied by a

subcontracting agency, Hospitality Sta ng Solutions (HSS). HSSis one among a number o subcontractors Hyatt uses to sta its hotels. HSS employees, someo whom have worked at a Hyatthotel or seven or eight years, aretypically paid minimum wage with

no sick days, vacation days, orpension. None were able to pay orhealth insurance or their amiliesand were reliant on state support

or amily health care. HSS workerswho applied or jobs directly withhotels were told that hotel contracts

An advertisement by one o Hyatts subcontractors,Hospitality Sta ng Solutions (HSS)


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The hospitality industry is built on making guests eel welcomeand cared or. Good beds and

u y com orters, without riendly and welcoming sta ,

cannot create a hospitableenvironment. Hyatt wants

its workers to be hospitableand caring, without showinghospitality and caring itsel toits workers. The outsourcingapproachreplacing loyal employees with poverty wage permanent tempsisdemeaning to workers and

detrimental to its long-termvision o hospitality. The re usal to reach a air agreement oncontracts and recognize workers rights to organize underminesits leadership in the community.The Hyatt Corporation could bea great American hotel chain,

but greatness begins with great treatment o workers.

Kim Bobo, Executive Directoro Inter aith Worker Justice


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with HSS orbid them rom directly hiring HSSemployees until a year afer they lef HSS.

HSS workers report how they eel dehumanizedand disposable by both Hyatt and HSSmanagers. Tis eeling is con rmed by the

ollowing advertisement that HSS has placed inhospitality trade publications and on its website.It presents hospitality workers as i they were

items or sale in a vending machine.

In the advertisement HSS claims to be an expertin shielding its hotel corporate clients romtrailing liability. Tis means that by hiringHSS, Hyatt shields itsel rom liability or wageand hour violations, sa ety and health violations,immigration violations, and any other violationso the law that may be committed by HSS.Hospitality Sta ng Solutions has aced a 2009class-action suit on behal o more than 100 janitors and housekeepers at two PittsburghHyatts.1 Te Indiana Occupational Sa ety andHealth Administration recently issued a sa ety order proposing nes o more than $50,000

ollowing injury complaints lodged by Hyatt andHSS housekeepers against HSS and Hyatt. 2 One

HSS employee who reported sa ety complaints

1 http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/09/26/ hotel_sta ng_company_ aced_wage_complaints/

2 http://www.in.gov/dol/fles/HOSPITALITY_STAFFING_SOLUTIONS.pd
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/09/26/hotel_staffing_company_faced_wage_complaints/http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/09/26/hotel_staffing_company_faced_wage_complaints/http://www.in.gov/dol/files/HOSPITALITY_STAFFING_SOLUTIONS.pdfhttp://www.in.gov/dol/files/HOSPITALITY_STAFFING_SOLUTIONS.pdfhttp://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/09/26/hotel_staffing_company_faced_wage_complaints/http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/09/26/hotel_staffing_company_faced_wage_complaints/


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to the Indiana Occupational Sa ety and Health Administration was reda couple weeks afer the sa ety order was issued. HSS has indicated that it

red the worker because o a mismatched social security number.

UNI E HERE, a union representing approximately 100,000 hotel workersacross North America, has success ully negotiated collective bargainingagreements at union Hyatt hotels that protect workers rom beingterminated because o a no-match letter.

In Boston, where workers were not protected by a collective bargainingagreement, all directly employed housekeepers were red and housekeepingwas entirely turned over to HSS in one day. Afer protests Hyatt removedHSS as its outsourcing agency and replaced it with another company called United emps. In other cities, non-union Hyatt hotels have beentransitioning to HSS slowly over a number o years. As directly hiredemployees leave, they are either not replaced at all, and the workload o other employees is increased, or they are replaced with HSS employees. Atthe Indianapolis Hyatt Regency, or example, 50% o housekeepers are now employed by HSS. No new housekeeper has been directly hired by Hyatt inIndianapolis since 2008.

Te presence o a sta ng agency in the hotel also appears to degrade theworking conditions o directly employed workers in the hotel. Wages o directly employed workers are low, and workers report overwork romchronic understa ng. Hyatt housekeepers in several properties where Hyattuses subcontracted housekeeping sta clean as many as 30 rooms a day,

nearly double what is typically required at unionized Hyatt hotels.


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Health and Safety Concerns forHyatt HousekeepersA study o hotel worker injuries rom 50 U.S. hotels was published inthe American Journal o Industrial Medicinein February 2010.By company, housekeepers working at Hyatt hotels in the AJIM study had the highest injury rate o those hotels

studied, with a risk o injury twice that o thecompany with the lowest rates. Housekeeperswe surveyed at union and non-unionHyatt hotels report pain and injuries

rom their work as housekeepers.Women at one unionized Hyattclean 16 rooms a day, whichgives room attendants lessthan one hal hour to clean anentire room, re-cart suppliesand move to the next room.At some Hyatt hotels,where housekeepers haveno union, conditionsare even worse. Roomattendants at non-unionhotels clean as many as

30 rooms a day, nearly double the quota o unionproperties. Tis workloadleaves room attendantsas little as 15 minutes toclean a roomthats 15


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These employees remembered when local managers understood and embraced the concept o ohana ( amily), where bothworkers and managers had respect or each other and bothhad obligations to care or each

other. With continual cost cuttingand labor cutbacks borne by theworkers to improve pro ts or mainland owners in Chicago and on Wall Street, the exploitationand power abuses recall Hawaiis plantation era.

Donald Armstrong, President,Congregation So Maarav

As they were talking, what went through my mind was the imageo the taskmasters o Egypt, whowould give more work to the

Israelites when they complained o harsh treatment.

Rabbi Victor Mirelman


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minutes to make beds,scrub clean the toiletbowl, bathtub and allbathroom sur aces, dust, vacuum, empty the trash,change linensamongother things.

Rushing to complete thework takes a dangerous tollon workers bodies, in somecases leading to permanentinjuries. Injured workers mustofen choose between continuing towork in pain or not work at all. A toughdecision in todays economy.

When asked what they recommend

to improve their working conditions,housekeepers told us that lowering the roomquota would reduce rushing and wear on thebody.

Many hotels have recently introducednew room amenities without reducing thenumber o rooms assigned to housekeeperseach day. Luxury beds with heavier

mattresses and linens, triple-sheeting, duvetsand extra pillows are increasingly common.Other add-ons like co ee pots, spa robesand large, hard-to-clean mirrors make roomcleaning more di cult and time-consuming.Mattresses can weigh around 100 lbs. or


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I interviewed Nenita Ibe, whomoved to the U.S. rom thePhilippines 13 years ago. Shehad a convenience store in thePhilippines, but hoped to better support her amily here. She is68 years old. Meeting Nenita, I imagined her spending ull dayscleaning bathrooms on her knees and li ting the mattresseswhich are heavier now sincethe hotels are competingto provide more and moreluxurious bedding. She now hasa badly injured arm rom her work, con rmed by a workers compensation doctor. Thecompany, while acknowledgingher injury, has long delayed paying her or time she lost working due to the injury.Meanwhile her own insurancedoes not cover physical therapy. I am le t wondering: What does it mean to ul ll our covenant withthe God who led the Israelitesout o slavery, i not to stand up against the mistreatment o people at work?

Rabbi Julie Saxe- aller


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more, and ofen women are supplied with atsheets, whichunlike the tted sheets we use

at homerequire housekeepers to lif theseheavy mattresses several times each time they make a bed. Hyatt housekeepers at one hotel

report to us being injured while lifing the new heavy mattresses that the Hyatt installed duringrenovations o the hotel. Te new mattresses areon boards instead o box springs making it muchharder or workers to get their hands underthe mattresses to lif them to change the sheets.Workers reported injured hands, including split

nger nails. One worker reported that afer sheinjured her hands, blood got onto the com ortero the bed. She then had to change the com orterwhich required her to work even aster to meether quota or the day. Afer workers complained


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I have chronic leg and back pain. I havebeen injured many times but I have only reported two work-related injuries tomanagement. I only reported these twobecause there were witnesses. Eventually,I was moved to a public area o the

hotel where the work is less hard but I was told by a manager, the next time you all down, you will be disciplined. A pregnant co-worker had brought anote rom her physician saying that theregular housekeeping work put her indanger. The managers response was,I dont have light duty work. You haveto do the same as everybody else.

Hyatt housekeeper

With pain, I heard the storieso seven Hyatt employees, whocame to our Temple to tell meo their su ering. Subjected to adehumanizing points system, housekeepers must literally run

to make a quota o cleaning upto 30 rooms per shi t and injuriesare the unsurprising result. Onehousekeeper reported being told by a physician she had carpal tunnel syndrome, but a manager disagreed and she did not receive light duty. As I listened

to the seven men and womentelling me their stories in Spanishand English, I remarked, Youare being treated like cogs in amachine, not human beings. But each o these women and menis created in Gods image. LikeIsaiah be ore us, let us raise our

voices against the oppression o workers, at Hyatt in San Antonioand everywhere.

Rabbi Barry Block


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about the renovated beds, Hyatt gave thehousekeepers a wedge to place between theboard and mattress, which workers reportto us does not help. Workers are provided a15-minute break period, but several reportedthat they did not take their break so thatthey could meet their room quota.


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Hyatts Interference in UnionOrganizingHilton and Starwood hotel chains agreed to re rain rom inter ering whenworkers organized at certain hotels. Hyatt has not. Since the 2005, over5,000 workers have joined the unionat Hilton and Starwood hotels,

whereas only approximately 500workers at Hyatt have won unionrecognition rom Hyatt during thesame time period.

As the Reconstructionist RabbinicalAssociation noted in a 2009resolution, many employersintimidate, harass, coerce and even

re people who try to organizeunions. Workers are red in one-quarter o private-sector unionorganizing campaigns, and mostworkers who try to orm unions aresubjected to repeated, coercive, one-on-one, anti-union meetings withtheir supervisors, which are illegal in

many countries.At Hyatt workers told us o intimidation, including mandatory group andone-on-one anti-union meetings with managers, and un air treatment o

There was the rst action. Since then,its been hell in that place. Once they

knew you were public, you turned yoursel into a target. Everyone is

targeting you every day. A ter goingthrough so much negative stu

against us, not just me, but or all

the public people in there, I thought to mysel why did I get involved

in this? I I had known, I probably wouldnt do it. Its not easy. Its huge

pressure every day.

Hyatt worker


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pro-union workers. Indianapolis Hyatt workers told us that the IndianapolisHyatt Regency has hired a security company, whose director has harassedand threatened pro-union workers. Workers have led an un air laborpractice charge about this situation.

Given the power that employers have over employees to discipline, changeshifs, and re, just about anything an employer says or does to indicate hisor her anti-union bias will be experienced as intimidating by employees.


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My position on Angie Laus plight is rooted in the social teachingso the Roman Catholic Churchthat afrm the dignity o labor,the amous social encyclical by Pope Pius XII, the RerumNovarum (on the Conditions

o Labor) in 1861. The Popeargued, among other things,that a worker had a right towages sufcient to support theworker and his/her amily. Theworkers right is also extended toreasonable hours, rest periods,health sa eguards, and a decent

work environment.

Rev. Father Ed Dura

Working without a unioncontract leaves Kwok and all the Hyatt employees vulnerableto the caprice o management.His overarching concern is

reedom or employees toorganize without inter erence

rom management. Here, theEpiscopal Church stands withKwok.

Bishop Otis Charles


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In 2008, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards o Conservative Judaismapproved a responsum called Work, Workersand the Jewish Owner , written by Rabbi JillJacobs that concluded that

Jewish employers should allowtheir employees to make their ownindependent decisions about whether to

unionize, and may not inter ere in any way with organizing drives by fring or otherwise punishing involved workers,by re using workers the option or card check elections, or by otherwisethreatening workers who wish tounionize. When hiring low-wage workersor engaging contractors who supply low-wage workers, Jewish employers should strive to hire unionized workers when possible.

Whereas Hilton and Starwood hotel chainshave agreed to employer neutrality andcard check recognition at many properties,pledging to collectively bargain withworkers when a majority o workers at

these properties have joined the union,Hyatt insists upon requiring that a NationalLabor Relations Board election be held.NLRB election campaigns occur in anenvironment o extreme power disparity between workers and employer, in


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which employers are ree to re workers or practically any reason. Teseconditions are so intimidating that Human Rights Watch has determinedthat the United States is in violation o the undamental human right toorganize unions.

One o Hyatt Corporations most e ective weapons that it wields againstworkers organizing is its use o HSS and other sta ng agencies. By contracting with HSS, Hyatt has e ectively stripped rom workers their

undamental human right to bargain collectively with the employer that

actually determines their wages and working conditions.


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SolidarityAccording to workers at union hotels, it took them nearly two years topersuade Hyatt to withdraw bargaining proposals that would have cuttheir bene ts or the bene ts o uture employees. Workers say they couldnever have accomplished this alone. Workers attributed their success to thesupport o workers at other union and non-union Hyatt hotels, workers atHilton and Starwood hotels, and their community allies who are honoring

their boycotts. Tey spoke o how important it is or them to stand withworkers at non-union Hyatt hotels as they call or an end to pernicioussubcontracting and or a air process or non-union workers to organizeunions. Workers explained to us that solidarity with other workers is not anact o charity, but arises rom recognition that more members in the union


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I I were a union hotel worker,I would want workers in other hotels to join the union too sothat together we would havemore power.

Rabbi Bruce Elder to Rick Segal,manager o the

Chicago Park Hyatt

Channeling the core Jewishvalue o pursuing justice to helpothers, Mary asserts, I have avoice, I try to speak or people

who dont have a voice.

Ms. Susan Lubeck,Progressive Jewish Alliance

I was struck by the solidarity workers eel or each other and,in particular, the way unionized

workers stand up or non-unionized Hyatt workers.

Cantor Michael Davis


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diminishes the power disparity betweenworkers and employers.

o date, Hyatt has re used to allow workersat non-union hotels to organize ree romemployer inter erence. Workers are currently circulating a petition at union Hyatt hotels,pledging that the signers are more thanwilling to agree to a contract that treats them

airly but they are not willing to agree toa contract that prevents them rom actingin solidarity with their ellow workersthroughout the industry. We stand withthese workers whose actions are in keepingwith the highest teachings o our religioustraditions.

p h o t o :

J o e

L e v y


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Judaism and the EquitableWorkplaceIn multiple cities across the United States, members o the clergy have sat down with Hyatt workers to heartheir stories. We heard rom Mary who told us she hadbeen given muscle relaxants and a medicated patch

or her back because o the pain she experiences as sheper orms her work. She said, We all see each othergetting broken; the longer youve been there the morebroken you get. We heard rom a worker whose ngershave been hardened and de ormed by constantly having to put her hands in between mattresses when changing the sheets.

As we have listened care ully to the stories told to us by Hyatt workers,the Jewish clergy re ected on the Jewish texts and teachings on labor. Our

conclusions about Hyatts treatment o workers and our recommendations orchange have been guided by the core texts and teachings. Tese texts cry outagainst the extreme income and power inequality that exists between employers

We have concluded that Hyatt must be treated aslo kasher/not kosher or

events and celebrationsuntil it treats its workers

with justice.


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and employees in the hotel industry and they compel us to support workersin their collective e orts to be treated as truly equal partners with theiremployers.

Te stories o workers have led the Jewish clergy who have contributed tothis report to nd Hyatts practices to be oshek/oppression against workers.We have concluded that Hyatt must be treated as lo kasher/not kosher orevents and celebrations until it treats its workers with justice.

The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and ofcials o his people: It is you who have devoured the vineyard; that whichwas robbed rom the poor is in your houses. What do you meanby crushing my people, by grinding the ace o the poor? Saysthe Lord God o hosts.

(Isaiah 3:14-15)

A story is told o wealthy merchants, who came to Rabbi Yaakov o Radzimin

and complained to him: Rabbi, the crop is so abundant this year that theprice o wheat has plummeted. Te cost o shipping the grain is more than wecan get or the grain. We may lose all our money. Te rabbi answered with asmile, Te same way God supports the poor when the prices are high, Godsupports the wealthy when the prices are low.

As religious leaders with a commitment to the moral bottom line, weconsider it unacceptable when in good times employers keep their pro ts

or themselves and in bad times they pass on their losses to their workers.

We insist that the best business practice is the one that bene ts workers,many o whom have served their hotels or over two decades. Te bestbusiness practice bene ts the guests, who want their rooms cleaned by trained and dedicated sta and who have su cient time to do a thorough job cleaning each room. Te best business practice bene ts the community,


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which thrives on good jobs at good wages but which loses economicstrength when the work orce is paid below a living wage. While Hyattsactions may be legal, they are based on an immoral approach to makingpro ts.

In Jewish tradition, Passover is the beginning o liberation while Shavuotis the orging o a society o binding mutual obligation. In the Land o Israel, Passover and Shavuot marked the beginning o two grain harvests.In Leviticus we learn that our people brought a shea o grain as the omer

o ering at Pesach (Leviticus 23:9). On Shavuot, the people o ered twoloaves o bread (Leviticus 23:17). A shea can be untied and its contentsseparated, while the ingredients in a loa o bread are bound together.

In the book o Leviticus, the description o the estival o Shavuot isollowed by the injunction to share with the needy.

When you reap the harvest o your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges o your eld, or gather the gleanings o your harvest; you shall leave them or the poor and the stranger.I am the Lord.

(Leviticus 23:22)

In this way, Shavuot is tied to addressing economic inequality.

Te Mishnah emphasizes that this obligation is not charity.

He who does not allow the poor to glean or allows one and not another, or helps one o them (in the gathering), robs the poor. Concerning such a man it has been said, Remove not theancient landmark. (Proverbs 22:28)

(Mishnah Peah 5:6)


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Talmud Tractate Bava Batra 8bThe people o the city are authorized tostipulate weights and measures and to set workers wages and to establish penalties or breaking the rules.

Peoples responsibility or each other includes the domain o determining airwages.

A undamental principle o economic justice is derived rom thecommandment not to move landmarks, ound in Proverbs 22:28, and alsoDeuteronomy 19:14, You shall not remove your neighbors landmarks, setup by previous generations, and Deuteronomy 27:17, Cursed be he whomoves his ellow neighbors landmark. Te principle re ers to the Jubilee,the practice every 50 years that addressed economic inequality by revertingproperty to its original owners according to the ancient borders.

Te curse against removing landmarks is ollowed by curses against

those who harm the blind, the widow, the orphan and the stranger. Teserepresent the weakest sectors in a society. raditions emanating romthe law o hasagat gevulnot to remove landmarksextend beyond theagricultural realm to our obligations to keep economic inequality in check.

In Jewish tradition, the power imbalances inherent in relations betweenmulti-national companies or even individual hotel owners and theiremployees requires that workers be allowed to organize and negotiatecollectively the terms o their employment. Te ollow texts address ourobligations towards ensuring that workers have a voice in the decisions thata ect them.


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Tosefta Bava Metzia 11:24The wool workers and the dyers are authorized to say, We will all be partners in any businessthat comes to the city.

Te osefa establishes the authority o workers to govern their crafs.

Rav Kook (oral statement) (in Tzvi Yaron. Mishnato shel haRav Kook. 164)Within the workers organization, whichis ormed or the purpose o guarding and protecting the work conditions, there is an aspect o righteousness and uprightness and tikkunolam (literallyrepair o the world). The workers organization may sue both the employer and the worker who causes this problem, becauseunorganized labor brings damage and loss o

money to workers. For the unorganized worker works under worse conditionsboth in regard to wages and in regard to working hours, etc. And this is likely to make working conditionsworse in general.

Rabbi Jill Jacobs has drawn attention to Rav Kooks use o the term tikkun olam toemphasize that Rav Kook saw collective bargaining as instrumental in repairingthe balance o power between employer and employees which is necessary orthe halachic system to unction properly. Te conclusion that Rav Kook saw collective bargaining as normative can also be drawn by noting that he wrote thatunorganized labor brings damage and loss o money to workersinstead o sayingthat organized labor raises wages.

Hebrew texts and translations are rom Work, Workers, and the Jewish Owner, by Rabbi Jill Jacobs, a responsum approved by the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards o the Rabbinic Assembly o Conservative Judaism, May 28, 2008.


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CENTRAL CONFERENCE OF AMERICAN RABBIS

Tere ore, we call on the owners and leadership o Hyatt Hotels to committo the Jewish and universal obligations to treat workers airly and torecognize the value o their labor. We call on all Jewish institutions andindividuals to support Hyatt workers in their disputes. No celebration canbe truly joyous i it takes place at an institution which withholds air wages

rom its most vulnerable employees.

COMMITTEE ON JEWISH LAW AND STANDARDS OF

CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM

Jewish employers should allow their employees to make their ownindependent decisions about whether to unionize, and may not inter ere inany way with organizing drives by ring or otherwise punishing involvedworkers, by re using workers the option or card check elections, or by otherwise threatening workers who wish to unionize. When hiring low-wage workers or engaging contractors who supply low-wage workers, Jewishemployers should strive to hire unionized workers when possible.

THE RECONSTRUCTIONIST RABBINICAL ASSOCIATION

Be it urther resolved that, whenever possible, the ReconstructionistRabbinical Association pledges to hold all RRA conventions, programs andevents in hotels that have no outstanding or ongoing labor disputes.

THE AMERICAN CONFERENCE OF CANTORS

Te Hyatt hotel workers have called or a boycott o certain Hyatt hotels.Te American Con erence o Cantors pledges in its con erence business tohonor the workers boycott and will not patronize any o those hotels until a just resolution is reached.


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RecommendationsWE CALL UPON THE HYATT CORPORATION TO:

1) Rehire immediately the housekeepers it red rom itsBoston area hotels on August 31, 2009. Teir wages, bene tsand seniority should be restored to what it would have beenhad they not been red.

2) Cease using Hospitality Sta ng Solutions (HSS) andother sta ng agencies or work that had previously beenper ormed by directly employed workers. Hire these workersdirectly.

3) Accept a fair process to enable workers to choosewhether to form a union, free of employer intimidationor interference.

4) Bargain in good faith with workers. Pay workers aliving wage with bene ts and ensure a healthy and sa eworkload. Allow housekeepers at su cient time so that they may sa ely and thoroughly clean each room. Respect the needs o workers who arepregnant or who have other medical conditions requiring light duty. Donot require overtime o some workers when others are on layo . Involveworkers in all decisions, including decisions concerning renovations thate ect workload.

5) Work with UNITE HERE and with employers in the hospitalityindustry to ensure that all workers in the industry are treated withrespect and that hotels compete with each other on quality rather thanby reducing workers compensation and working conditions.

O ten she isrequired to li t and carry 50-pound bags o our. She

eels that many people think

that i they speak up about their work conditions,their hours will be cut. Her job isexhausting as she ison her eet 8 hourseach day.

Rev. C.J. Hawking


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WE CALL UPON ALL PEOPLE TO:

Honor workers boycotts. Do not eat, sleep, orpatronize boycotted Hyatt hotels, treating Hyattas lo kasher/not kosher until a air settlementis reached.

Write statements and support policies

of our institutions to honorworkers boycotts and not tohold events at hotels with labordisputes. Our institutions shouldinclude protective language orlabor disputes in all event contractsand consult with the union be orescheduling events.

Teach and learn the social teachingson labor from our religioustraditions so that they will nolonger be the best kept secrets o our religious traditions.

Supporting documentation or this report can be ound at www.justiceathyatt.org.


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It becomes a shanda (shame ul incident) whenthe Jewish business is at the

ore ront o lowering the statuso workers, and we, as Jews and Jewish leaders, are responsible

or making sure that the Jewish world o business and commerce is one that valuesbeing a mentsch (upstandingmember o the community)and treating employees withthe decency and standard that society has decided. Yes, they

may legally be able to outsourcemore or re use to recognizecard checks, which re ect employees desire to unionize;however, when the other major hotel chainsStarwood and Hiltongive the employeesthese rights and protections,

Hyatt should be at the very least on par. Anything below this isnot doing what is good and straight in the eyes o God.

Rabbi Asher Lopatin


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open the gates of justice

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