Unions Claim Moral High Ground, Kick Off Sleazy Smear Campaign
Openmarket.org
UNITE-HERE, the nation’s largest hospitality union, has assembled a new coalition of pro-union organizations to target Hyatt hotels with the goal of organizing the chain’s entire workforce.
The union, with the support of the AFL-CIO and NFL Players Association, is threatening to tarnish Hyatt’s reputation, portraying it as unfair to workers. On July 23, the coalition announced the initiation of its three-pronged attack against the popular hotel consisting of a global boycott, social media campaign, and a week of protests at Hyatt hotels in 20 major U.S. cities.
UNITE-HERE seeks to portray its campaign as a humanitarian effort to combat abusive working conditions. On his union’s campaign website, HyattHurts.org, UNITE-HERE President John Wilhelm states, “Hyatt systematically abuses housekeepers and other hotel workers, and it is unacceptable.”In a press release, the union claims, “Hyatt has singled itself out as the worst employer in the hotel industry.”