By Cecile Lepage and Megan Rawlins
“What do we want? Contract!
When do we want it? Now!”
It was to the beat of this straightforward chant that close to 1,700 hotel workers marched through downtown San Francisco on Friday, Aug. 14, the day their union contract officially expired. “Today, I’m here to fight for a fair new contract, said Elita Judge, a 10-year housekeeper at the Hotel Vitale. “We want to maintain the high quality health care that we’re enjoying right now.”
Friday’s parade was organized to send a message to the hotel management companies: Unite Here Local 2 union members – who make up 90 percent of the industry employees – are determined to uphold their living standards as negotiations for a new contract are launched.