Vol. 74/No. 3      January 25, 2010

The workers are also fighting job combinations. “They laid off a bus person and a receptionist, expecting others to cover their jobs,” said Perez, a banquet server at the Holiday Inn. “At the same time, they are cutting hours.”

Since the contract expired in August, the union has organized three-day walkouts at Grand Hyatt, St. Francis, and the Palace hotels. Despite high profits, hotel owners are pleading poverty.

The march ended with a sit-in at the Hilton Hotel that is demanding a 25 percent pay cut for new hires. A Local 2 press release notes that the Blackstone Group, which owns Hilton Hotels, announced that it has $12.6 billion in available capital. It paid its CEO $1.39 billion in 2008.

—Betsey Stone

Georgia Tech bus drivers
protest union busting
ATLANTA—More than 100 people rallied January 4 at the Georgia Institute of Technology bus lot at 6:00 a.m. in below freezing weather to show solidarity for 40 Teamster bus drivers who were told one week before Christmas they were being permanently replaced by nonunion workers.

In 2008 the bus drivers, who worked for First Transit Inc., became the first unionized workers in the history of Georgia Tech. They won a wage raise and job security protections, according to Ben Speight, an organizer for Teamsters Local 728.

In December, Georgia Tech awarded the bus contract to Groome Transportation, which refused to hire the union drivers.

“These people had seen many previous contractors come and go from the Georgia Tech campus,” said Speight. “What’s unethical is that Groome is not hiring these drivers who’ve shown such dedicated commitment to the campus and student body.”

On January 11, the first day of classes, about 40 students and unionists rallied and distributed leaflets seeking support for the replaced union workers at Georgia Tech University.

—Asha Ramachandra

Janitors strike for better
pay at Boston airport
More than 100 workers who clean planes for Delta and United Airlines at Logan International Airport in Boston walked off the job for 24 hours December 31.

The workers chanted their demands in English and Spanish at the picket line during the strike. The Massachusetts Port Authority told the press this was the first strike at the airport in more than 10 years.

The workers were demanding that Aramark Corp., which hires the janitors, agree to substantial pay increases. The janitors, members of Service Employees International Union Local 615, earn between $8 and $9 an hour with few benefits.

—Seth Galinsky
 
 
Related articles:
Flight attendants at United protest pay, job conditions  
 
 
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