UNITE HERE-backed Silverstein unseats longest-serving Alderman Berny Stone

With hundreds of UNITE HERE Local 1 members knocking on doors this election season, the union representing hospitality workers in Chicago helped sway a number of key city council races. The union’s support helped land decisive victories for candidates, most notably Debra Silverstein, who has unseated the longest-serving city council member Bernard Stone (50th).

Early on, Local 1 took aim at the longest-serving alderman, Bernard Stone (50th Ward), who has sided with the Congress Hotel in City Hall against the members Local 1, who have been on strike for nearly 8 years. Members of Local 1—one of the first groups to get behind his opponent Debra Silverstein—knocked on 20,000 doors in the 50th Ward. Their efforts made Silverstein the clear frontrunner among Stone’s opposition in the February election, paving the way for her defeat of Stone in the April run-off elections.

“I could not have gotten this far without UNITE HERE. I have been totally overwhelmed by the support they have provided to us,” says Silverstein.

Overall, UNITE HERE Local 1 provided 500 volunteers to aldermanic campaigns, who knocked on over 50,000 doors. UNITE HERE Local 1 boasts a diverse membership, and was able to provide support to campaigns across Chicago, including reaching out to Latino voters in wards where they are crucial swing voters..

“What’s happened in Arizona and Wisconsin—we don’t want that here,” says Jose Sarabia, a Local 1 canvasser, who works as a server at the Avenue Hotel. “That’s why the participation of the Latino community in these elections is so important.”

UNITE HERE Local 1 focused on candidates who have shown leadership on issues important to its members in the hospitality industry, such as a living wage for airport workers, support for area Hyatt and Congress Hotel boycotts, and the creation of good jobs in public venues like the public schools and McCormick Place.

The union of housekeepers, dishwashers, and cooks represents workers across Chicago’s hospitality industry, including downtown hotel workers, food service workers at area universities, airport service workers at both Chicago airports, and casino workers in Northwest Indiana. The union has made waves in recent months with strikes and demonstrations, taking on hotel heavyweights like Chicago-based Hyatt.

After extensive negotiations, Hilton leads industry with contracts that move workers forward as the industry emerges from recession

After many months of bargaining, UNITE HERE and Hilton Worldwide have reached tentative settlements in three major markets—Chicago, San Francisco, and Honolulu. The agreements signal a major breakthrough in citywide hotel negotiations nationally and a path forward for hotel workers as the hospitality industry emerges from the recession. In Chicago, members of UNITE HERE Local 1 ratified the contracts, affecting 1600 workers from the Drake, Palmer House Hilton, Chicago Hilton, and Hilton O’Hare, on Friday, March 4.

While terms of the settlements vary in each city, the contracts include wage increases, improved job stability language, and reduced workloads for housekeeping staff and others. Significantly, the new contracts also preserve low-cost, high-quality healthcare and pension benefits for Hilton workers and their families at a time when nationwide these employee benefits are being cut.

“Of course our health insurance is important, but for me I’m also really happy that were able to maintain a reasonable room quota for housekeepers,” says Claudia Virto, a room attendant at the Hilton Chicago. “Housekeeping work is difficult, but the changes we’ve made together with Hilton will reduce the chance of injuries and ensure that I will continue to have a job.”

“This settlement is good for Chicago, good for Hilton and good for our members,” says Henry Tamarin, President of UNITE HERE Local 1.

Hilton workers are among 6,500 other hotel workers in downtown Chicago and over 1500 hotel workers near O’Hare airport that have been in contract negotiations since August of 2009. The settlement with Hilton brings newfound stability to three major hospitality markets, which have faced protracted disputes with other major employers, including Hyatt Hotels (NYSE: H) and Starwood.

“We are pleased to have achieved a fair settlement for all sides—one that allows workers to move forward and share in the robust recovery that the hotel industry is experiencing,” says John Wilhelm, President of UNITE HERE. “We applaud Hilton for leading the way and upholding a decent standard for service workers in the hospitality industry.”

Nationwide, the hotel industry is already rebounding faster and stronger than expected. PKF Hospitality projects that hotel revenues will rise an average of 8% annually from 2010 through 2014. Bargaining continues for contracts affecting thousands more hotel workers in Chicago, San Francisco, Honolulu and several other cities across North America.