During our Netroots Nation 2011 location search, we considered a variety of cities and regions and found Providence, RI to be a great fit. Unfortunately, soon afterward it was brought to our attention that the Local 217 Union and the Westin in Providence were in the midst of a labor dispute, which consisted of:
- Management imposed a 20 percent wage cut;
- Management unilaterallly quadrupled employee health insurance costs;
- Management threatened to replace workers with subcontracted labor like the controversial "Hyatt 100" decision in Boston;
- Management fired three workers in retaliation for joining a picket line (they were later reinstated four months later - after the NLRB became involved); and
- Management broke off contract talks with the hotel workers.
To show our support of working families, we asked progressives around the state (and country) to sign our petition to get the Westin management to give their workers a fair deal.
Check out some of the media coverage of our campaign:
Although the situation is not yet resolved, we will continue to stand by working families in Rhode Island to demand they get a fair shake.
