JUST HOSPITALITY CAMPAIGN
Nashville’s convention and tourist hotel sector is red hot. Wages and conditions for cleaning workers, however, are among the worst in the country. Since Workers’ Dignity launched our Just Hospitality Campaign in 2013, housekeepers in Nashville have improved wages and benefits in 7 hotels by over $680,000 per year!
The economic boom propelling Nashville to our “It City” status has been built on the backs of low-wage laborers. – Neptalí Pérez (Workers’ Dignity) & Vonda McDaniel (Central Labor Council) in Tennessean Labor Day editorial
Improved Conditions at Homewood
In April, housekeepers at the Homewood Suites Nashville Vanderbilt won across-the-board wage increases and recovered an estimated $21,000 in unpaid wages. African American workers led the fight, and one inspector went on strike over conditions. Total wages improved by an estimated $53,000 per year.
Housekeepers Wake Up Marriott
In August, after an 8-month campaign, housekeepers who worked for a cleaning agency at the Courtyard Marriott Nashville Vanderbilt/West End recovered their full wages. In the lead-up to the victory, workers and supporters held a late-night protest and a 7:00AM “Wake-Up Call” drum-banging action.
Without us housekeepers, these hotels can’t stay open – Fanny López, former Courtyard Marriott housekeeper
Cleaning Workers’ Bill of Rights
In July, housekeepers crafted a Cleaning Workers Bill of Rights and signed on 140 of their coworkers and other cleaners to back their demands. In 2016, they’ll begin presenting their demands to major employers in the hospitality industry. |