UNITE-HERE Says Chicago Hotels Are Chronically Under-Staffed

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/11864

Hotels in Chicago are being blamed for unnecessary chronic understaffing. Jesse Russell reports:

The union representing thousands of hotel workers in downtown Chicago is accusing hotels in the area of unjustly using the recession as an excuse to lay off workers. According to Unite Here Local 1 the Hyatt Regency Chicago cut 199 jobs between November 2008 and March 2009 and as a result 46 percent of the remaining staffers had to work more than 2000 hours of overtime between January and April. The union represented workers are demanding that the hotels recall laid off workers. Unite Here has contracts with more 30 hotels in the Chicago area which expired on August 31, 2009.