Support Seattle Hyatt workers, hotel boycott at Wednesday rally

The following is from UNITE HERE Local 8:

SEATTLE — Workers and community supporters will continue to support Hyatt workers in a rally and picket line in front of the Grand Hyatt Seattle, 721 Pine St., from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 8.

Workers at the Grand Hyatt at the Hyatt at Olive 8 called for a boycott in August 2013, and that effort is still gaining momentum in the community. So far, seven customers have moved events out of the Seattle Hyatts, the most recent being Lake Washington Girls Middle School. The middle school moved within days of their event to support workers. The city-wide convention of the Specialty Coffee Association of America has altered plans to support the boycott. In addition, more than 20 state representatives and senators and more than 30 non-profits and community groups have endorsed the boycott.

After years of struggling for dignity and respect on the job, workers have called for a fair process to form a union. In July 2013, UNITE HERE and Hyatt Hotels at the corporate level reached a national agreement on such a process, which has gone forward at other Hyatts in the U.S.  So far, the local owner of the Grand Hyatt Seattle and Hyatt at Olive 8 has refused to implement the agreed elections process in Seattle.