Chicago Moves Forward on Hotel Strike Notification Law
SEPTEMBER 10, 2009 - A Chicago City Council Committee has passed an ordinance that would require hotels affected by a work stoppage to notify guests when they book hotel rooms. Contracts for 6,000 Chicago hotel workers expired August 31.
'Protecting Chicago's visitors is critical to the health of our tourism industry,' said Alderman Munoz, the Right to Know ordinance's chief sponsor. 'If customers suffer a bad experience because of a strike or lockout, then that affects our reputation as a city. We need to do everything we can to make sure our visitors have a good experience.'
Chicago is the site of the nation's longest running strike at the Congress Hotel, where workers have been picketing for six years because the hotel refuses to increase pay from the $8.83 they made in 2002. The Chicago standard is now over $14.60 an hour, meaning that union hotel workers make $10,000 a year more than at the Congress Hotel.
According to Unite Here Local 1, over a thousand customers have complained about the hotel since the strike began. The hotel has also failed seven building inspections in the last two years. Seven of the 15 Department of Health inspections of the Congress Hotel since 2005 have found evidence of insects or rodents, including dead roaches and rat and mice droppings.
Jim Kuhn, a visitor from Maryland, applauded the move. Kuhn booked a room at the Congress during a citywide convention and was unable to find a different hotel room. 'Crossing the picket line was a terrible experience,' said Kuhn. 'It was obvious the strike had taken its toll on the hotel. I didn't have hot water for much of my stay, the coffee machine was broken, and the place seemed to be operating on a shoestring. Chicago should protect its guests by making sure they know when a strike is going on.'
The Chicago City Council Finance Committee passed the ordinance today by a vote of 16-3. The Right to Know ordinance will now go to the full City Council.
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