UNITE HERE Local 57 is the union of hotel, gaming, food service, and hospitality workers in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania.

July 26, 2010

UNITE HERE Protests Corporate Cutbacks in Downtown Pittsburgh and Across North America

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On July 22, approximately 200 UNITE HERE Local 57 members and community supporters engaged in a spirited protest in downtown Pittsburgh demanding that workers receive their fair share as the economy improves. A group of 16 workers and union leaders were arrested in an act of non-violent civil disobedience designed to express their outrage at how hospitality employers are trying to make the recession permanent for workers, despite significantly improving industry conditions.

The site of the protest, just in front of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, was chosen as a symbol of Pittsburgh's hospitality industry.

Eugenia Newman, lobby attendant at the Omni William Penn Hotel commented, "Over the years, I've seen my workload steadily increase as other housekeepers have left the hotel and not all have not been replaced. Doing the work of several people is wearing down my body and I can't do it all much longer. In the meantime, people in my neighborhood are searching for work and not being hired."

The Pittsburgh protest was coordinated with actions in 14 other cities across the US and Canada, all protesting corporations that are using the weak economy as an excuse to further squeeze workers for long term concessions.

Local media outlets provided extensive coverage of the event: