It is also good to celebrate.

Three years ago on a hot July day I, along with 50 other hotel workers and clergy sat down in the middle of Sunset Boulevard and when told by police to move we refused. The point of our civil disobedience (and subsequent arrest) was to protest the belligerently intransigent stance of the Hyatt Corporation toward their workers. This was part of a national action at a low point in a long-running campaign for dignity, just compensation, and a healthy work environment for hospitality workers. Despite the fact that people demonstrated across the country and in Canada; despite the fact that people were arrested across North America, Hyatt was seemingly unmoved.

But the workers were also strong, and persistent. It took another three years, but today the Hyatt Corporation and Unite-Here, the union representing the workers, announced an agreement. There will be a contract. Continue reading →