“We are asking that the workload be lowered from 16 rooms a day to 15, sick days be raised from four to six, and we receive a $1.50 raise upfront and 50 cents every six months,” said Dorothy Tillman, a worker for more than 30 years at Holiday Inn Express at O’Hare airport.

Carlos Maldonado, who works in the kitchen of the Holiday Inn City Center, noted, “The owners will want to raise the insurance costs. We pay only $30 a month right now.”

The cheering unionists, wearing red T-shirts and caps, walked along the major streets of Chicago whistling and chanting, “Who are we—Local 1; What do we want? A contract.” The hotel workers were accompanied by members of the Teamsters, Iron Workers, United Food and Commercial Workers, and Service Employees International Union.

—Rollande Girard  
 
Wal-Mart workers in China
organize at two outlets
Workers at Wal-Mart stores in China have successfully unionized their second store there. The 42 employees at the outlet in the southern town of Shenzhen have joined the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, reported the Xinhua news agency August 5. The first was set up in the southeastern province of Fujian in July. Wal-Mart employs more than 30,000 workers across China. The Chinese union federation has said its goal is to establish a union at every Wal-Mart outlet. The U.S.-based retail giant has aggressively fought efforts by workers to unionize in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere. Xinhua quoted a Wal-Mart statement saying, “Should associates request the formation of a union, Wal-Mart China would respect their wishes and honor its obligation under China’s trade union law.”

—Brian Williams  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home