Hyatt workers are strongly supporting the Chicago Teachers Union in their fight for better schools. The fight of Hyatt workers and that of Chicago public school teachers is linked because Penny Pritzker, one of the leaders of the billionaire family which runs Hyatt, is also on the board of the Chicago Public Schools.
Here is Will Spain, Hyatt worker and Chicago Public School graduate, on why he supports the strike:
My name is Will Spain, and I am a Door Captain at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. I’ve worked at the Hyatt for 20 years, and I’ve lived in Chicago my whole life.
As a worker and union member, as well as a Chicago Public Schools graduate, I wholeheartedly support the teachers’ strike for better schools.
I grew up on the West Side of Chicago, and graduated from John Marshall Metro High School in 1989. When I was in school, textbooks were always a problem. School starts in September, and we wouldn’t get our books until February. The lack of textbooks in our schools has been a problem for decades. Textbooks for all students on the first day of school are just one of things the Chicago Teachers Union is fighting for.
The teachers and Hyatt workers, we’re both fighting for the same things. Decent wages and benefits. Equality and the ability to support our families. We’re tired of seeing big corporations take money away from real working people. The schools don’t have books but Hyatt got $5 million to build a non-union hotel in Hyde Park.
Despite the lack of resources, I had some great teachers at John Marshall Metro High School. One teacher in particular who had an impact on me was George Crockett, my history teacher. Mr. Crockett had also been a student at John Marshall.
I remember Mr. Crockett would say to me, “Education is your passport to the future.” He was my mentor, providing me with the guidance I needed to succeed in school. Without him I wouldn’t have made it.
And that’s exactly what the teachers in Chicago are doing today. They are not just educators; they are also filling the roles of counselors, social workers, and even parents. But, they should be able to just be teachers.
That’s why the stand taken by the Chicago Teachers Union is so important. It shouldn’t take 20 years for every school to have textbooks. The 30,000 teachers and school workers out on strike are fighting for better schools, and I’m with them all the way.
Chicago is a union town. All we want is our fair share. If we don’t all stand up as one, then one day the dream of big corporate interests will come true and we won’t have any share.
Slide Ohare
UNITE HERE Local 1 Members See Obama As Source of Inspiration (VIDEO)
As election day nears, members of UNITE HERE Local 1 were asked about what they thought of President Barack Obama and the job he has done thus far. A recurrent theme of seeing the President as a source of inspiration ran through many of their responses and was the catalyst for a new video released by the union this week.
Hyatt Worker: Why I Support the Chicago Teachers’ Strike
Here is Will Spain, Hyatt worker and Chicago Public School graduate, on why he supports the strike:
My name is Will Spain, and I am a Door Captain at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. I’ve worked at the Hyatt for 20 years, and I’ve lived in Chicago my whole life.
As a worker and union member, as well as a Chicago Public Schools graduate, I wholeheartedly support the teachers’ strike for better schools.
I grew up on the West Side of Chicago, and graduated from John Marshall Metro High School in 1989. When I was in school, textbooks were always a problem. School starts in September, and we wouldn’t get our books until February. The lack of textbooks in our schools has been a problem for decades. Textbooks for all students on the first day of school are just one of things the Chicago Teachers Union is fighting for.
The teachers and Hyatt workers, we’re both fighting for the same things. Decent wages and benefits. Equality and the ability to support our families. We’re tired of seeing big corporations take money away from real working people. The schools don’t have books but Hyatt got $5 million to build a non-union hotel in Hyde Park.
Despite the lack of resources, I had some great teachers at John Marshall Metro High School. One teacher in particular who had an impact on me was George Crockett, my history teacher. Mr. Crockett had also been a student at John Marshall.
I remember Mr. Crockett would say to me, “Education is your passport to the future.” He was my mentor, providing me with the guidance I needed to succeed in school. Without him I wouldn’t have made it.
And that’s exactly what the teachers in Chicago are doing today. They are not just educators; they are also filling the roles of counselors, social workers, and even parents. But, they should be able to just be teachers.
That’s why the stand taken by the Chicago Teachers Union is so important. It shouldn’t take 20 years for every school to have textbooks. The 30,000 teachers and school workers out on strike are fighting for better schools, and I’m with them all the way.
Chicago is a union town. All we want is our fair share. If we don’t all stand up as one, then one day the dream of big corporate interests will come true and we won’t have any share.
Better Schools for All of Us: Lunchroom Workers’ Union Supports Striking Teachers
UNITE HERE Local 1, which represents 3,200 lunchroom workers in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), stands strongly with the teachers. Though we are not on strike, we will join the picket lines wherever possible.
When the lunchroom workers of UNITE HERE Local 1 reached an agreement with CPS on their own union contract in April of this year, we announced a major success in the workers’ Let’s Cook! campaign to ensure a future of fresh food for Chicago’s kids. The groundbreaking settlement set a course for school meals in Chicago that incorporate the input of the lunchroom workers and respect their skills and experience as frontline caretakers of the kids.
It is now time for the Chicago Public Schools to show that same respect to its teachers – to incorporate their voice, experience, and vision for the future of education in Chicago.
We know that caretakers in the schools every day – be they teachers or lunchroom workers – always hold the interests of all of our children close to their hearts. Their jobs are difficult, but their commitment is great.
“Just like the lunchroom workers, the teachers are nurturers who every day are also counselors, comforters, and mentors to our kids,” said Shay Hillsman, a CPS lunchroom worker and member of UNITE HERE Local 1. She added, “I support the teachers as a fellow worker but also as a parent. They are fighting for educational opportunity for my kids too.”
We are proud to stand together in the schools and on the streets as long as it takes to realize a vision for a better school day for our kids and a better city for all of us.
Guest Post: An Immigrant Mother Fights For A Living Wage
Editor’s Note: The plight of immigrant women in this country has been on my mind lately as I put the finishing touches on my news story for New America Media. A few months ago, I was selected for a fellowship that requires the publication of a news story about an immigrant woman. I was intrigued by these stats: the No. 1 source of employment for immigrant women in this country is housekeeping. No. 2 — which I am focused on in my fellowship story — is caregivers for the elderly. Stay tuned!
Union calls for worldwide boycott of Hyatt Hotels
Labor unrest at Hyatt Hotels Corp. escalated Monday as Unite Here called for a global boycott of the Chicago-based hotel chain and the company took out a full-page Washington Post ad blasting the union campaign and defending its workplace practices.
Another Year Passes for Congress Hotel Strikers
One Day Longer. That’s what they say on the picket line when you ask when a strike will end. The dedication to the cause continues on until a just contract can finally settle a dispute between employer and workers. For nine years now, workers from Congress Hotel in Chicago have walked the picket line in a struggle for fair wages, benefits, and working conditions.