The strikers and their supporters are maintaining picket lines from 6:00 a.m. until midnight. When asked about the mood of the workers Bayona said, "We have to fight." Those on strike include workers in the laundry, room cleaners, and front desk workers.

Workers at the hotel must clean 16 rooms a day. This results in injuries at the workplace and no lunch breaks for them. At other area hotels employees must clean 14 a day and if there are a lot of rooms where people have checked out, which take longer to clean, they can clean 12 a day.

Anabel Ramírez has worked at this Marriott 11 years, currently three days a week in the laundry and two days a week cleaning rooms.

"I had my wrist operated on two times," she said. "There are many people who have been on disability. We have to work very fast and it is heavy work. They push us too much. They never say thank you. They are always saying your work is not good enough. They pick on people. They’ll give you a verbal warning, then a written, then they can fire you. Workers make $13.59 an hour at other hotels. Here at the Marriott we make $11.16 an hour."

The Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees (HERE) Local 2 has been negotiating with the Marriott Courtyard for more than seven months. The workers are demanding a reduction in the workload and higher wages and they point out they have not had a wage increase since 1998, a time of increased cost of living in the Bay Area.

Workers from many hotels have joined the spirited picket lines, and helped to hand out flyers and keep a beat with chants and noisemakers.

Eugenio Chávez comes to the picket line three times a week. He has worked for 20 years in the pantry at the nearby Hilton Hotel. He said workers struck the Hilton at Fisherman’s Wharf 10 years ago and won. The Hilton’s contract expires in August 2004.

"We work hard and we aren’t asking a lot," Chavez said. "We want them to give us fair contracts with the millions they make. We are very united. We pay rent, bills, and raise our children. They are millionaires because of us."

José Bonilla was at the picket-line and works at the Holiday Inn during the summer full-time and in the winter part-time. He also works at the Hilton Hotel as an extra as well as does banquets. He works an average of 50–80 hours a week.

"We are supporting the workers and need to support workers whenever they are fighting or on strike," said Bonilla. He has participated in the regular picket lines at the Marriott in downtown San Francisco. The workers there won union representation four years ago but the hotel still refuses to sign a contract.

Deborah Liatos is a member of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 120.  
 
 
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