Combining political, legislative and organizing strategies, union activists in Houston recently achieved a landmark victory: For the first time in the city's history, hotel workers will have a union voice on the job, placing Houston on the map for conventions, conferences and meetings of unions and allies.
The workers at the Hilton Americas Hotel won a strong first contract after a union-community campaign to help them win decent wages, benefits and respect at work. The 500 workers (a number that rises to 700 during peak seasons) joined UNITE HERE Local 251. They ratified their first contract Dec. 16, which includes increased employer contributions to health insurance, improved retirement benefits, sick days, vacation time, a seniority system and a grievance procedure.
"It's an excellent contract," says Jaime Flores, the trustee of Local 251. Some 25 workers at the hotel joined Operating Engineers Local 564 for a voice on the job. "I think we get more respect now," says Emiliano Mancilla, a member of UNITE HERE Local 251, who had worked at nonunion hotels for 20 years before getting a job as a banquet server at the Hilton. "It is so much different," says Mancilla. "This is a good thing for everyone in Houston."
Reaching out to local lawmakers
Union activists and their allies mobilized elected officials to ensure the workers could choose a union through a majority sign-up process rather than the lengthy National Labor Relations Board procedure, which gives employers the upper hand in fighting workers' efforts to win a voice on the job. Because the hotel was publicly financed as part of city leaders' efforts to attract more tourism, activists helped persuade elected officials that neutrality by hotel management during the union organizing effort would avoid disruptions and protect the city's investment. The hotel held a massive job fair and organizers handed out union authorization cards during the event. Job applicants eagerly filled out the union cards. When the hotel opened, the workers the hotel had hired made it clear they wanted a union.
Mobilizing community support
The labor council asked members of Congress, the state legislature and the city council to write letters to workers, boosting their morale, and to the Hilton Corp. supporting neutrality. The labor council also reached out to 50 community groups, all of which pledged to support the workers. Members of ACORN and The Metropolitan Organization, a local coalition of religious and community groups affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation, helped pack city council meetings and rallied with workers. Immigrant rights groups, which deepened their relationship with unions during the 2003 Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride-the historic national mobilization involving activists from 10 cities riding buses across the country to spotlight the injustices of current immigration policies-also joined. The UNITE HERE contract with the Hilton includes a provision allowing undocumented workers who fix their immigration status within a year to come back to work.
The union victory, says Shaw, will give the entire city a boost. The labor council gave its Justice Here award to the Hilton during its annual Justice Bus ride in June, an event that spotlights employers that treat workers with respect-as well as those that abuse workers' rights. Union leaders are encouraging unions and allied organizations to patronize the Hilton Americas for meetings and conventions. The Texas AFL-CIO plans to hold its convention there in August.
The Hilton Americas "will be an example for other hotel operators to emulate," says Shaw, "a first-class hotel with first-class employees and a first-class contract."
