Much has been made of Bob Filner crashing the City Attorney’s news conference a little while ago but we shouldn’t forget that in that flurry of feistiness he pointed out that there are people among us, fellow citizens, family, friends, you name them, who are paid tacky wages. Like hotel workers.
He made it clear that the tourist industry isn’t going to ply their trade with $30 million dollars of the city’s money unless they pay hotel workers what they deserve.
How refreshing is that, a mayor for the people, a man standing up for the folks who make visitors to “America’s Finest City” comfortable and well fed, with nice pools for a swim on well manicured hotel grounds. These people get out and about town and spend money by the ton and the people who added so much to the fineness of their stay don’t get anywhere near their fair share of this bounty.
The hoteliers, however, get way more than their ownership status should allow and around these parts they have historically treated their workers as though they don’t care about them. The reason being? Because they don’t care about them.
I mean Local 30 has been fighting for years for better wages, respect and workplace justice. Now they are fighting for their very jobs. There could be massive layoffs.
A new company, Tarsadia, is buying the Hilton Mission Valley and has not guaranteed the hotel workers employment and some people have toiled there for over 20 years.
This past Friday evening I, along with some other folks, spent a little time in the lobby of the Hilton in solidarity with a number of workers. Was there ever a lot of good energy in that room. A core group, committed to non-violently expressing the disgust and rage that comes with second class citizenship, sat themselves down around a handsome rug in a spirit of “We shall overcome” and “We shall not be moved.”
They started chanting, and the rest of us joined in, matching their enthusiasm, with:
Si se puede!
Si se puede!
What do we want?
Justice!
When do we want it?
Now!
HEI, rich and rude.
We don’t like your attitude!
HEI, look around.
San Diego’s a union town!
Up, up with the union!
Down, down with the bosses!
It was fun in the way that taking an active role in changing the world can be fun, in spite of the seriousness of what you might be trying to get done. One couldn’t help but put their whole body into it, like moving to the music at a concert, like responding to “Come on down!” on the Price is Right. Problem is the price isn’t right for hotel workers.
Then, there came over a megaphone, a policeman’s plea: “May I have your attention?” and the chanting and singing went up a notch, catching up his little “vacate
the premises” speech in the glorious roar, making it as intelligible as a whisper in a windstorm – as we “vacated the premises.”
I left the protest before the arrest of those who didn’t exit the scene as I had another place to be and wasn’t prepared, as I’m guessing they were, to be jailed for the usual “trespassing” or “disturbing the peace” charges that come with civil disobedience activities. They have my utmost respect.
I sure hope everything works out. Being laid off would be devastating to these hard working people in such times as these.
And while I’m hoping, I hope that before the tourist industry gets $30 million dollars of the city’s money to market what they have to offer that they have to make sure that such anxiety as Hilton Mission Valley’s workers are experiencing goes away and that paying workers fairer wages is part of the deal.
“We the People” should stay abreast of this problem and support Local 30’s struggle and support our mayor who is trying to make our city responsive to all its citizens.
Such would make one of the chants from the protest come true:
Who’s in the fight?
LOCAL 30!
Who’s in the streets?
LOCAL 30!
Who’s gonna win?
LOCAL 30!
Said, who’s gonna win?
LOCAL 30!
Truth is: we all win when justice is served.
Ernie McCray
Latest posts by Ernie McCray (see all)
- Should Democrats, like Superman, Seek ‘Truth, Justice and the American Way’? - December 10, 2018
- Saying Goodbye to a Friend Who Gave Me a Helping Hand - November 28, 2018
- An Awakening - November 21, 2018
Thanks for this, Ernie. I’m going to be looking into the Living Wage Ordinance as it applies to the TMD. I’m not a lawyer, but from what I’ve read it appears that Mayor Filner has every right to demand a living wage workers at hotels that participate in the TMD under the city’s LWO.
Every little bit helps. I hope Filner can get his way in this.
Sign the petition at this website to retain Mission Valley Hilton Workers:
http://www.heiworkersrising.org/
Boycott Hilton (HEI) and Hard Rock Cafe (Tarsadia) until this worker dispute is resolved.
Ernie, you’re still out there fighting the xlnt fight. I’ll never forget you walking beside the teachers and students of Muir in 1977. As the Principal, you would’ve lost your job if you shared the same sidewalk with us, but you walked in the street less than 3 feet from us showing possibly one of the greatest acts of solidarity I have ever seen. Right up until the Chinese guy in front of the tanks.
San Diego is just as much a destination city as Los Angeles or NYC. The hotel workers at non-union properties usually do twice the workload as their counterparts at union shops for half the money. They do all this work unable to work enough hours to qualify for healthcare benefits or, if they do qualify, aren’t able to afford coverage for themselves or the entire family. I’ve seen comments in other comments sections covering this same story and there are a lot of ignorant people out there talking about why these workers should feel entitled to anything that has to do with their jobs. I say those of that opinion don’t know what it’s like to have to truly struggle to keep a job.
Teach, Sergio, teach, my brother.
I think it’s more a matter of they don’t care.
You could be right.
And my friend, Bob, is slowly whittling away at the way things have been done. Hallelujah!
Ridiculous! Now Illegal aliens want to keep the jobs they obtained illegally? where are the taxes that should have been paid in two the government fund when the paperwork has been bad for 15 years. Whose name are they working under. DEPORT THEM!