Indianapolis Update

Indianapolis Area hotel workers to march with "Hope Quilt"

October 26, 2009

150-foot "Hope Quilt" comes to Indianapolis on national tour, highlighting hotel job injuries and Hyatt working conditions

In support, Indiana leaders form coalition to end abuse of women in hotel industry

On Wednesday, October 28 at 4:30 p.m., Indianapolis hotel workers will hold a march and rally with the "Hope Quilt" as part of the 7-city "Hope for Housekeepers" national tour to bring visibility to the abuse of women in the hotel industry. The march will begin and end at the south steps of the State Capitol in downtown Indianapolis (near corner of Washington and Capitol)

"Hope for Housekeepers" is a national movement of women, founded by Hyatt housekeepers across the country to stop the abuse of women in the hotel industry and bring a message of hope to fellow Hyatt housekeepers and the thousands of women working as housekeepers across the globe.

"Hope for Housekeepers" is a national movement of women, founded by Hyatt housekeepers across the country to stop the abuse of women in the hotel industry and bring a message of hope to fellow Hyatt housekeepers and the thousands of women working as housekeepers across the globe.

Hyatt housekeepers affiliated with UNITE HERE’s Hotel Workers Rising campaign have organized a seven-city tour that stops in Indianapolis, featuring the symbol of their movement--the Hope Quilt. This quilt stitches together the stories of Hyatt housekeepers and the pain they endure everyday just to provide for their families. Each patch symbolizes a story of pain or injury brought upon by the heavy burden of their workloads.

Non-union Hyatt housekeepers, like those in Indianapolis hotels, clean as many as 30 rooms in just eight hours and get paid as little as $7.25 an hour, whereas unionized Hyatt housekeepers in Chicago clean no more than 16 rooms a day, make $14.60, and have job security. In September, Hyatt sparked a national controversy after 98 housekeepers at 3 non-union Hyatt Hotels in the Boston area were fired. Housekeepers were fired after training their replacements from an outsourcing agency that Hyatt also contracts with here in Indianapolis.

Now Hyatt housekeepers and community supporters from across the country are fighting back. Prominent women leaders across the state are now stepping forward to form a coalition to end the abuse of women in the hotel industry. City leaders are also taking steps to improve the quality of hospitality jobs in Indianapolis. In November, a resolution will go before City Council, condemning the practice of outsourcing of hospitality jobs, given the heavy taxpayer investment in the Indianapolis hospitality industry.

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