Hyatt says it won’t put a housekeeper on its board [View all]

[Starry Messenger]

http://peoplesworld.org/hyatt-says-it-won-t-put-a-housekeeper-on-its-board/

CHICAGO - Repudiating one of its own employees, this week, Hyatt Hotels announced its nomination of a longtime financial executive and McDonald's Board Member, Cary McMillan, to join its board of directors at its shareholder meeting to be held this June.

The announcement has caused a firestorm of reaction in the ranks of the Hyatt workforce and among community leaders who have been supporting the candidacy of Cathy Youngblood, a Hyatt housekeeper.

Ongoing violation of worker rights by Hyatt is what motivated her to try for a seat on the corporate board, says Youngblood, who has been traveling across the country in the "Someone Like Me" campaign-a national initiative of the Unite Here union to have a worker added to the hotel chain's board. Since late 2012, Youngblood has been speaking with workers and community leaders across the U.S. and rallying support for what she says is much needed reform at Hyatt, which the union has dubbed "The Worst Hotel Employer in America."

"When Hyatt announced its proposal for a new member of its board of directors this week, it doubled-down on its resistance to reforming longstanding labor abuses," said Youngblood, adding, "Hyatt has an opportunity to demonstrate its desire to move in a new direction-to show it really cares about worker voices. Instead of nominating someone like me, Hyatt has chosen to nominate a board member from McDonald's, adding to the ranks of board members from Walmart, Goldman Sachs, and other corporate giants."

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