At a press conference Nov. 30, hospitality union UNITE HERE Local 1 claimed Hyatt threatened to cut off healthcare benefits unless workers abandon a boycott of the hotel chain, seeing Feb. 29, 2012, as a final deadline for an agreement.
UNITE HERE Local 1 called for a boycott of the hotel chain after a year of failed negotiations. Union leaders criticized International Mr. Leather this summer for hosting its annual gathering at the Hyatt Regency despite the boycott.
Healthcare benefits for 1,500 Chicago-area Hyatt hotel workers could expire if a labor agreement is not reached.
Hotel employees have been working for two years without a union contract, after previous negotiations failed. Hyatt continued to offer employees healthcare benefits through the two-year negotiation period, extending these benefits to Feb. 29, in the hopes of reaching an agreement before that date.
Currently, employees working at least one hour per month are eligible for healthcare benefits. Single employees pay no premiums; families pay a premium of $30 per month. Hyatt has yet to make a decision about extending healthcare benefits past Feb. 29 if no contract is signed.
"The health of our families should not be used as leverage in these negotiations," said Marek Rozpadek, a bellman at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, at the press conference.
Organizers of the boycott stressed the importance of employee health over corporate profits, and the potential burden of uninsured workers on public health programs.
"They are holding my health hostage," said Gabriel Carrasquillo, a server at the Park Hyatt who is HIV-positive.
Carrasquillo's viral load is currently undetectable and his T-cell count is in the normal range; all indicators show that his HIV is managed well. He credits his good health to the preventative care and daily medication he receives through his healthcare benefits.
"Just my HIV medication is well over a $1,000 per month," said Carrasquillo. " [ If I lost my benefits ] that's at least $12,000 to $15,000 out of my income. I still have to pay my rent. I have to feed myself."
Hyatt is currently offering employees a 12-percent wage increase and 26-percent benefits increase over four years, as well as continuing to pay 100 percent of healthcare premiums. The next contract negotiation deadline is Dec. 22.
"We are very hopeful, as we are every time we go into negotiations, of getting a contract done," said Patrick Donelly, general manager at Hyatt Regency Chicago. "We're very proud of the deal we have on the table in these trying economic times, and the only thing standing between our employees and the deal is the union."
Union representatives claim Hyatt is unwilling to budge on crucial demands to curb subcontracting and ease working conditions for housekeepers—demands that Hilton and other area hotel chains have agreed to.
Hyatt contends it is willing to agree to a contract identical to union agreements with other area hotel chains, including Hilton, but does not want to expand these contracts to markets outside of Chicago.
