CHICAGO—Workers at six Hyatt hotels, in Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago began a one-week strike September 8. Several thousand housekeepers, kitchen workers, and wait staff have had no union contract since August 2009. Nearly 100 members of UNITE HERE Local 1 rallied outside the Hyatt McCormick here September 10.

Jacquline Gaddy, with 11 years in the housekeeping department, said when work gets slow and people are laid off, Hyatt management makes them reapply as new employees. “We’re fighting for job security,” she told the Militant.

“Management targets people who stand up for their rights,” said Ladarryl King. “We have to let management know we’re not afraid to swing.”

—BETSY FARLEY