Virgin Hotel Chicago Workers Find Drug Paraphernalia, Bodily Fluids at Work

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, February 19

 

CONTACT

Sarah Lyons, [email protected], 312-385-0603

 

Virgin Hotel Chicago Workers Find Drug Paraphernalia, Bodily Fluids at Work

New report details working conditions at Virgin Hotel Chicago as workers call for better wages, healthcare

 

CHICAGO – Today, Virgin Hotel workers rallied outside the downtown Chicago property   to speak out about their working conditions and call for better wages and healthcare.

 51% of surveyed Virgin Hotel Chicago workers reported finding syringes outside the trash and 77% reported finding blood while working in the past year, according to a new study released by UNITE HERE Local 1.

“A while ago, I was dusting a very high surface with a rag, and I knocked an exposed syringe on the ground. Luckily, the needle hit the rag without hitting my hand. I reported to management who told me that as long as it didn’t puncture my hand everything was OK. Cleaning vomit and blood is not uncommon either,” said Pablo Zavala Garcia, who has worked as a linen runner in the housekeeping department at the Virgin Hotel Chicago since the property opened in 2015. “I feel really uncomfortable about cleaning all this stuff, but I do it to have a job to support my family,” continued Zavala Garcia.

Virgin Chicago workers also face barriers to healthcare. 20% of surveyed workers reported that they were either on Medicaid, County Care or were uninsured and 29% reported that they had medical debt.

“Even though I pay over $400 per month for Virgin Hotel’s health insurance for me and my husband, I still get bills after going to the doctor. It is very stressful. We deal with many disgusting things at work. We deserve better healthcare coverage,” said Bertha Rosales, a room attendant at the Virgin Hotel Chicago who has worked there since the hotel opened ten years ago.

77% of the Virgin Hotel Chicago workers surveyed are women and 97% of those who reported their race/ethnicity are people of color, with 62% Latinx and 29% Black or African American.

The release of the report documenting the experiences of Virgin Hotel Chicago workers comes just weeks after the hotel’s tenth anniversary. The Virgin Hotel Chicago first opened its doors in January 2015 after receiving a Class L property tax break from the City of Chicago, estimated to be worth $6.5 million in property tax savings over 12 years.

The report is available at www.unitehere1.org/virginhotelchicago