Space Needle workers fight for job security

SEATTLE (Feb. 7) — UNITE HERE Local 8 members have been in negotiations with the Edgewater Hotel and the Seattle Hilton for many months, where workers are fighting for their job security and their union.  Add the Space Needle to that list.

In contract negotiations, Space Needle management wants the ability to subcontract out workers’ jobs and refuses to agree to protect the workers’ jobs in case the facility is sold. On Thursday, employees will vote on management’s latest contract proposal that does not include job security.

TAKE A STAND! Please take 30 seconds to be in solidarity with the workers and let the Space Needle know that the Seattle community expects them to do the right thing and protect workers jobs. CLICK HERE to send an email and a fax to the Space Needle corporation supporting the workers! Also you can share our link on facebook, go to www.facebook.com/local8 for the link.

“In this economic climate, workers need to know they can’t be thrown under the bus at any moment,” writes the union. “Our struggle is more than a series of contract negotiations, it is a vision for Seattle tourism that includes a middle class life for local workers. It is a city-wide fight, with many battles.”

Read this open letter from Sanjeet Thebe, a Space Needle employee:

Dear Community Allies,

My name is Sanjeet, and I am a server assistant at the SkyCity Restaurant at the Space Needle.  I am pleading with you to sign this petition to secure jobs at the Space Needle and help ensure a future for my family and my coworkers.

Growing up in Nepal, I remember seeing pictures of the Space Needle, standing as a symbol for a brighter future in America. Amazingly, the Space Needle became my first and only job since moving to the US.   Though I only make minimum wage plus tips, my job has provided me with affordable union health insurance and a chance to build a future.  Because of my job, my wife is able to go to school to become a nurse.

But the Space Needle Corporation now wants to have the option of subcontracting our jobs. In addition, they will not protect our jobs if they decide to sell the Space Needle to someone else. In other words, my job could be replaced any day with temporary workers making minimum wage and no benefits. What kind of a future is that for me and my family?

You can make a difference. Tell the Space Needle that you want the symbol of Seattle to stand for good jobs. They can still do the right thing and guarantee workers’ job security, but time is running out. I am the only breadwinner for my family and I can’t afford to lose my job.

Thirty seconds of your time can help ensure a future for over 200 workers and our families. Many of us are immigrants, women, and people of color. But more importantly we’re good and experienced workers. And we don’t deserve to be sold out.

In Solidarity,

Sanjeet Thebe