Hotel Workers Strike in Boston!

It's with Dan Ray.

I'm telling Boston.

Radio, all right, there is a big, big strike going on at several Boston hotels, a very public strike at some of the city's most expensive hotels. And I've read a lot about the strike, but today I thought it would be good to talk to a member of the union to find out what's at stake there. There seems to be some legitimate claims that these strikers, these these union members have I've never spoken with my guest before. I think he's busy today on the picket line. I

How are you, sir, I'm not doing too bad. How about yourself?

Then, well I'm you and fine.

You guys got a strike on your hands, so I want to know a little more about it, just to introduce it to the audience. Our reporters were out there today and I just want to play one of the reports that Hyle Shaffle filed just as a table cetter. So just hang with us for one minute.

Here.

We'll listen to cut number twenty three and I'll be right back with you. ISAA cut number twenty.

Three sounds good?

Close to seven hundred Omni Parker workers walking off the job. Boston sotel strike is more than doubled overnight.

You know, everything is cruently Expensive'll pay the rent, pay the billst and and everybody to.

God is fight marta housekeeper joined dozens of our coworkers at the Seaport Omnium to demand a contract and higher wages. Your night here Local twenty six President Carlos Rmios, there's a pay month for the workers. Will mean the difference between staying in Boston and being forced out.

If they keep saying make them pay, make them pay.

They're demanding at the hotels step forward and reach a contract that gives them significant ways increases. Another housekeeper I talked to was I rate over needed to work multiple jobs just to cover rent.

You cannot leave with just one job, just one job should be none.

There's no end insight to the strike, and union leaders say more hotels could be added at any time. Kyle Shaffle to Beds Boston's News Radio.

All right, so that's sort of a table set of for this, But let's go back in a little bit of history here I guess the union came to an agreement.

It was the twenty eighteen was the last time a contract was signed.

Uh, yeah, that's correct. That's actually before I was in the union though I'm a baby union member. But yeah, so this is my this is my first contract fight. But yeah, it's been it's been a while.

Sure, okay, no problem.

Hey none of us were alive when George Washington was the first president, but we all know about that, so no problem.

So that's right.

Is mine standing is that when the contract expired, it was during the time of COVID, and that there was an agreement to extend the contract for a couple of years. I just want to make sure, just in terms of setting the the history here that I'm fairly close to accurate.

Is that true as you as you understand.

It now, that that is true as I understand it. We came to an agreement with the hotels to you know, kind of maintain, maintain our contract and our benefits, but not push for two more because you know, you can't. You couldn't stay there at a hotel during a during the global pandemic. It was not a good time for travel.

Tough time.

Yeah, So now the hotel.

Now that crisis seems to have passed, okay, and the hotels are back pretty full.

How many union.

Members does Local twenty six represent in Boston? And is it every hotel or just certain hotels that have the union membership the members have decided to join the union. It's not every hotel in Boston, correct.

So no, it's not every We represent a lot of the hotels in Boston. And I honestly can't say exactly how many members you represent. I do know that right now there are about thirteen hundred of us striking. But yeah, it's not every hotel is union. We represent most of the hotels in the city, though, And it is just about it is about, you know, having a union is in the hands of the people. So it's about who you know signs up and works for. Is it works

Yeah, absolutely so, so my understanding.

And again I've followed this from Afar and that's why I appreciate you being on tonight because it'll give us a better sense of what's going on. That the union has taken a couple of steps excuse me there, taken a couple of steps over the last few weeks, in the last couple of months to I want to bring this work issue out into public and for a while certain hotels there were work stoppages, but this activity of

Yes, so there's uh, there's four hotels on strike today. It's both of the Omnis and two of the two of the Hiltons that are on hotel and it's about thirteen hundred members out right now. I was on the picket line earlier today. You know, there's it's always a good time at the Omni Seaport picket line. We keep it, we keep we keep it lit over there.

Yeah, okay, So what has been the reaction of Obviously most of the people at the Omni Seaport are not your average Bostonians. There are people who are come here to attend an event or for business purposes or to become tourists. Are you getting support, you know, at least verbal support from from people who are checking into the hotels.

Yeah, you know, it's a mixed bag. There's definitely people who I've definitely seen a lot of support from a lot of people. I've personally talked to people saying that, you know, we're fighting a good fight. This is where it starts. Stuff like that, you know, But also, and I don't One of the things that I want to make clear is that you know, this strike is not against the guests, it's against the hotel. So I do feel.

When we get back, Isaac would have liked to talk to you about and again, I don't know how much how specific you can be, but I'd love to find out a little bit about what the current wages are, if the wages differentiated between I understand you're a cook, if I'm not mistaken, correct, Yeah, okay, so I don't know if you're compensated more than all other union members, if the compensation depends upon what job you feel or whether or not it's across the board, And what are

We'll be back on Nightside. If you'd like to.

Join the conversation, feel free six one seven, two, five, four ten thirty or six one seven, nine three one ten thirty. My name is Dan Roy and this is night Side.

Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.

My guest is Isaac Smith cow Op. He is a cook in Boston, a member of the union that is on strike here in the city, has been on strike for some time now. He's a cook at the Army Boston Seaport Hotel. So, so, Isaac, a couple of questions, if I could. Everyone's in the union, but are people treated differently by the hotels? Are there, for example, the cooks make more money than the folks who are outside, or you know, the luggage people or the desk people.

You know, it's it depends hotel to hotel. Certain hotels are every department is unionized, hotel not. Not every department is unionized, but they do have the ability to sign cards and join the union. So it's really it's really kind of case by case. It depends on the way the individual contract is written.

Okay, so as a cook, as a cook, do you earn more money as a cook than let's say, someone who's on the the cleaning staff, the folks who do the very important work of cleaning rooms and getting them ready, you know, fresh and clean for new guests, or is there a discrepancy there or does everyone make the same amount of money based upon how long they've worked at the hotel.

Everyone's compensated very similarly. And I'd also like to say that, I mean, every job in the hotel is important. Every every single every single worker functions to make that to make.

If you get to the hotel and your room isn't made up, you got to sit in the lobby and wait. Or if you get to the.

Room and the and the room hasn't been made up or properly, and you know, you walk out of the room and you say, I don't want to go in there. So how far apart uh all is the union from the hotels. I assume the hoteltels that you manage your negotiations with all the hotels together. You're not negotiating your contract at the Omni Seaport, and someone else is in some other group of is negotiating and contract at the

It's not like they're gonna go hotel by hotel.

So we are all standing in solidarity with each other, but it's not exactly the same hotel the same contract for each hotel. So, but what we are fighting for is our five core demands, which is a record pay increase, more than has ever been achieved in our locals history.

Okay, so let's go all of those.

Those concerns are vitally important, but at the core of any contract negotiations always is going to be the money. So give me, if you would, an approximation, you know,

I'm gonna tell you what it is, man, I'm gonna tell you it's not enough, brother, Like at the end of the day, like the majority of members all have two jobs work amount of overtime.

No, I understand that, and I respect that, but can you give me a rough number? Is it ten dollars an hour, twenty dollars an hour? What sort of a range are we talking about here? Because I think it's important for people to know that in a day when you know, money doesn't go as far as it used to. Approximately, what's what's the range that that the And I haven't seen this in the in the newspapers, which is to me frustrating because I want to know how strongly I want to support the workers.

Well, I mean you should just support the workers anyway.

Right, No, I understand, I'll figure that out, Isaac. I'm not being a wise guy. And if you don't want to answer that question, that's fine, you can say that. But I think it would be in the union's interest if you said to me, hey, Dan, believe it or not, the average person who works at one of these five star hotels in Boston that we represented that we're striking.

Against now makes X. Just to put it in terms that people can understand.

Well, I mean we're making you know, it's like around twenty like the twenties area, you know. And I think just to put in perspective, right like, uh, to speak about the dude who owns my hotel, This is a man whose net worth has gone up almost one and a half billion dollars over the course of your hotel three Robert Rolling, Robert Rolling, Right.

Then I assume you work at the Omni seaports, So that's who he's talking about.

Yeah, he is, he's the owner of all the Omni hotels. Well, you know, this is a man, This is a man whose net worth has gone up by almost one and a half billion dollars right over the course of one year, you know, twenty twenty three to twenty twenty four. If you break that down, right, that's roughly forty four dollars every second. So just just think about how much money he's made during this conversation, right while we have members. You know, you don't have to be struggling.

You know, Isaac, that's an interesting stat You don't have to convince me on that. So now my question that I want to get to is if the average hotel workers and somewhere in the twenties, I'm just gonna round it and say, twenty five dollars.

An hour, what is the You said you want a record.

Increase, which which I respect, uh, in which the hotel should respect. How much is the is the union asking for? And is the hotel at least responding with a counteroffer or are they just just sitting across the table and offering nothing back.

I mean, the hotel's counter offers have been like very disrespectful. You know, some of the counter offers that they have that they have offered actually amount to a paid decrease because we'd have to it would increase our how much we pay for healthcare health Okay.

I get that. I get that. So what what are you guys looking for?

And I and I'm not sure what What is the normal term of a contract? It is normally a three year contract or a four year contract. What's the normal contract length?

So our contract is roughly four years? Okay, but like like we talked about earlier, we've had the contract we have for a little bit longer since it was since we got an extension during com I got it.

I got it.

So will this contract go forwards four years for you? Or will it be retroactive for a couple of years and only go forward two years?

No, So the way that the contract works is that when we sign it, if so, we're on strike now, our contract's been up for like a month now, right, so when we go back every day that we worked, we're going to get every day that we worked without the updated contract. We'll get some retro for that.

Yeah.

So it's retroactive to the day when the contract expired, which is a month ago, is what you're telling me. So therefore, when the contract is reached, it will cover you for the next four years approximately. So come back to what you talked about. How did you guys want to have a record.

Raise?

What's the how much are you looking for that you feel would be fair over a period of four years.

Yeah, I'm not really I deliver you to say that right now, but like I said, it's a record increase. It would be the most that we've ever it would be the most that the local has ever achieved in a contract fight. And like I said, it's it's necessary, you know, like, and I know you're not.

I'm actually try understand help you, Isaac. I'm actually trying to help you make your case here. So so if you're saying it's a record increase, I'm betting that you're talking about over the course of the contract probably somewhere close to thirty percent at least.

Yeah, I mean, yeah, something in that ballpark range.

But yeah, that's what I'm you know, I've been around.

I'm not the numbest guy in the world, so I can figure that one out. And that would be a that's a healthy raise, but it's over the course of four years.

It's not thirty percent immediately.

It's over the you know, it's staggered in whether it's seven and eight, seven and eight or whatever, they would get you to that thirty percent. And you know, if you look at what room rates were six years ago compared to what they are today, I think you could make that analogy isaink is what I'm trying to say to you that if they were charging two hundred dollars for a room at these hotels five years ago and now they're charging five hundred dollars, that's a hell of it increase, you.

Know what I'm saying.

No, yeah, and so so I think that's why I brought that that in, right, So like what we would get, would you know, it's it's still less than what this man would be making every second.

So yeah again, But you know that argument is as a member of the public, that argument is le in just to make it personal. That's less convincing to me because if you're somebody who has invested your money in one of these big hotel chains or whatever, you know they make big bucks. It's like you know the you know the guy that show, Hey Tani the Dodgers. He's a big superstar. So he's making seven hundred million dollars over ten years or what.

You know. It's it's money that you and I can't even comprehend.

It's stratospheric, okay, because he can do something that that most people can't, you know, hit fifty home runs and pitched and all of that. Let's take a break. Let's see what people have to say about the contract. I got to tell you, I have a lot of empathy for union people who are doing this sort of work because when I go to a hotel, whether it's in Boston or somewhere else, I want that room to be clean. When I have a meal at the hotel, I want to make sure that the meal is as good as

Back after this, It's Nightside with Dan Ray on w Boston's news radio.

We're talking about the Boston hotel workers strike. My guest is Isaac smith Kawa. He is a cook at the Omni Seaport Hotel and we have been trying to explain and I've been trying to understand better, uh, exactly what

Yeah, Inflation, I mean, like you said, inflation is hitting everyone in this country like very hard, and it's you know, it's we're all we And the way I see it is that everyone's at a point where, you know, we can't handle it anymore. Everyone we everyone needs more money, and everyone's struggling to pay the rent. Everyone's struggling to

You know what I'm you know, what I'm saying to you, Isaac, is when you and I go to the grocery store and we see a you know, a dozen eggs that you know, a couple of years ago might have cost a buck ninety nine, uh and are now costing four thirty nine. Or you know a box of cookies that would have been two ninety nine or now for ninety nine. The folks who's the billionaire that owns the hotel? That doesn't impact them, I mean it impacts it.

They notice it.

It's like it's like someone, you know, the mosquito bite on an elephant, but it you know, for your for your colleagues, uh, and for most people, uh, that that takes a big bite out of your paycheck. Let's see if we get some phone calls. You're going to start it off with Paul, who's calling in from Nantasket. Paul, Welcome to Night Side, and we're on with hotel worker on strike, Isaac Smith Colwall.

Go right ahead, Paul, Hey, Dan, how you doing good?

Sir?

Good?

So he sounds like it doesn't want to give you an ant. It sounds like Kamela Harris actually doesn't want to give you.

That's not fair way he gave me an answery.

You know, I know that he's he's limited in terms of what he can he can express. But but I I asked him what they workers were making on average, that's an average, and he said, you know, somewhere in the twenties dollars an hour.

And and I asked him about.

What they're looking for, uh, in terms of compensation over the course of a he told me that they normally negotiate a four year packed and I, you know, he did say they looking for a record raise, and I suspect that it'd be somewhere, you know, in the thirty percent or more area. And he acknowledged that. I'm you know, and so I you know, they're in it. He's limited a little bit what he can say. What what's your question for him, Paul? I mean, don't don't, Paul, don't what hold in business?

And if I go up my rates so much, you don't get the business like you're supposed to get. So some of these rooms are going to you know, they will two or three hundred. Now they're going to be five or six hundred. The guy didn't go up in the rates because because he just wanted to go up. He went up in the rates because everything around him

Paul hold on, I'm I'm I'm listening what you're saying. But I wanted to stand where you're coming from. Uh, And I said, you can participate.

Here if you want at any At any point, my point was.

Was this ball that this union.

They had their last contract settled in twenty eighteen, and it's a four year deal, so it should have been negotiated in twenty twenty two because but because COVID was still going on, the union agreed to extend the contract without a raise for two years.

So now they're they're basically trying to say, hey, we've been a raised in six years.

Hotel rates have gone up during those six years, and yet what the un, what the union members have been.

Paid, hasn't gone up.

That's that's what I think the union's saying. Am I correct, Isaac or no? If I'm wrong?

Correct, No, that's no, that's one hundred percent. And also you point to the room like the room rates going up to adjust the to help with the cost of covering stuff. I mean, these room rates have gone up In saying and insane amount. The hotels are making record profits and we haven't gotten a raise. It's not it's

And you're in the situation, well, none of us, none of us can afford all these high prices. So it's getting out of control. So I mean what I mean, so why so why should we not?

So? Why should we not? Why why should we not fight to be able to afford it? Right? Like, if you just said that I can afford it, right, well, the.

One one at a time, Paul, let him finish and I'll get you back.

Are you finished, Isaac?

Yeah, I'm just I'm just wondering, if you're saying that that no one can afford these prices, why should we not be fighting to be able to afford it. I'm just confused as to where you're coming from. You're you're defending very rich people who it doesn't affect and the people who you're who you are sharing the same problem with our standing up for ourselves and fighting to get that raise, and you're over here criticizing. I just don't understand it.

Paul.

Let me ask you a question if I could, in all fairness and not too many wise guys. Are you have you gotten a raise since twenty eighteen or no? I have no idea what type of work you do.

And it doesn't mean I got my own business. I'm in construction, so I got my own business.

But are you Let me.

Let me ask you this. Are you?

Are you earning more money this year than you were in twenty eighteen? And again, you're working hard. I'm not denying you that. Okay, you have a right with your hard work to be compensated, you know more. Are you making more now than you did in twenty eighteen?

No?

And the reason is the price of fuel, the price of the costs of insurance, boot cross the shield, you go. Those are all long profits that you just keep going up every year. So everyone's you got to remember, everyone's paying all these extra things. So I don't mind him getting a raise. But I mean when he said record raise, record, he did say.

A record raise, but they haven't had a race for six years. I don't know what in the what in the past. If I could ask you, Isaac, what has the union won for example, like in the again you told me you weren't in the union in twenty eighteen, but do you have any idea what they got in the last contract with the union?

So I can't speak exactly to the last contract, but what I discussed earlier is like we won, we won our good healthcare plan that was in two thousand and six. I believe same with our pension plan. Right, So these are these are you know these especially and this kid's close to me because hits close to home for me, especially as someone who works in the culinary industry, Like I've never had like good insurance through a job. You know, this is something that you were just talking about how

So yeah, again, I want to give Paul a last word here. Paul, I wasn't trying to catch you off. I'm just where from where I'm sitting. I don't begrudge the folks who are doing the hard work at the hotel.

Arrays and means.

I mean, one of the things that always I try to do when I go to a hotel. You know, when you check in and someone walks you through the room, you're giving them a ten dollars tip or something, which is fine, But when you leave, you know a lot of people don't leave a few bucks on the table for the for the person who's been cleaning the room for two or three days, and that's a tougher job.

You're gonna always have chisels, you know, I mean, the people they just chisel everything. So you're not going to have to stop those people anyway saying that sometimes they don't want to leave, you know that it makes a big difference.

Well, what all I'm just saying is that that we should appreciate. You know, many of these hotels you go into, and their spectacular hotels, they charge a lot of money. If you know, if you happen to be on the corporate card and you travel and you you you know, you.

Could afford them. It doesn't matter. You're not really paying for the companies paying for them. I'm just saying we should be fair to the workers as well. Paul.

I give you a I'm always I'm fair to my workers. I've had people here thirty forty years, they've been working. How many people, Paul, workers?

Paul, let me ask, I want to give you some credit. How how many people do you employ?

Well?

Twenty, it's not bad.

So you you provide a job for twenty people. I'll ask you this question, Paul, who's the last person that gets paid every every week or every other week in your company? I bet I know what the answer is?

Me me, because that will take a check some weeks to make sure everyone gets paid.

Yeah, there are friends of mine who are in business and they are always the last ones who get paid because you got to pay the workers. And that's a sexual.

Go ahead, Isaac, Yeah, that's uh. I mean you you said it beautifully. That's exactly what I'm saying. See like that. I have respect for you. Paul. You're a small business owner, and you're you're out here taking hits, not even taking a check some week to make sure that your workers

Hey, Yeah, did the workers ever think of, oh, the union ever think of even taking a hotel and try and running yourself.

I mean, I'm not the president of the union, so I can't really answer that. I think it'd be a good idea.

Yeah, Sometimes sometimes the work is gonna get together and say, hey, let's try to run it ourselves, and you really see how it is to run sometimes, But you know, it's business is tough, and we haven't recovered from the pandemic. And uh, the pandemic cause a lot of people kill the hotels. They lost a lot of money in those days, and they're trying to probably make the recovery now. But those days he had, the guy you worked for, he might have lost a lot of money in them days

Whether it seems like the eightiest richest person in the country, he's not hurting.

You can learn, gentleman, I got I gotta make some money and take a commerce shall break here.

Hey, hey, we're talking about money, make yours.

Broy That was a great talk, I tell you, that's all I like to hear. And I'm I'm with you, guys. I hope you get a raise, but you know, maybe you should get to a point where you know you can get back to work. And everyone tries to get a little little money and uh, and you're gonna keep you said. The city just they just want to they want to change the tax rate. They want to charge like hotels more than they chadge the regular homeowner, you know,

By the way, just for the record, the company that owns the Omni Hotels, it's called t RT Holdings. It's a private holding company based in Dallas, Texas that owns hotel chain Omni Hotels origins behavioral healthcare and many investments in other companies. Was founded in nineteen eighty nine. So the it's funny here, I guess. In nineteen eighty three, Dunfee Hotels acquired the small Atlanta based Omni International Hotels

Hey, Paul, I enjoyed your phone call. I appreciate your calling.

Both of you seem to have more in common I think than either one of you realized. Thanks Paul, talk to you Land. Thanks Thank you much. We will be back with Isaac Smith CoA who is a chef at the Omni Seaport Hotel. He and about seven hundred said seven hundred at this point of thirteen hundred, it's thirteen hundred, right, thirteen hundred hotel workers.

Are on strike. This strike going to be delayed?

Or are you staying out of the picket line until this this situation is resolved.

Hey, I'm gonna do what needs to be done.

Man, you know, just tell me what, tell me what is the plant? If the plant's published.

That's what I'm saying. I'm out. I'm out here for the long haul. Man. I'm out here until I get what's mine. I'm gout.

I'm out to get. What I'm saying is that position? Is that the position of the union is what I'm because.

Yeah, we yeah, we we authorize the open ended strikes. Like enough.

You know what all I'm trying to do is tell your story. Man, Just you know, I think you're suspicious of me. I'm actually trying to help you out. We'll take a quick break. My name is Dan Raid. This is Nightside. If you'd like to join the conversation. Six months seven, two thirty six, seven, nine, three, one, ten thirty back on night Side after this.

Live from the Window World Nights SIEN Studios, I'BZ News Radio.

Well, as often happens the lines of packs.

So we're going to try to get a couple of you in, but those who called late, we may not make it. John and Salem, I'm not sure John, if it's Salem mass So Salem new him to go ahead, John.

Yeah, how you doing so much? I give all my respect to the unions as well, and I was a union worker before, but something happened to me that today when I was driving downtown Boston, I heard the chant one job for all, and I started listening to what

Okay, John, I appreciate your perspective.

You but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Thank you, John, appreciate you calling.

Thank you very much. Let me go to another John. This John's in Boston, John, and Boston got to be quick. You've called in really late.

Go ahead, John, all right, thanks sn Yeah, I just wondered about I mean, you guys are trying to get the piece of the pie things like. To me, the issue is universal healthcare, not worrying about you know, AARP fights for against poverty in old age under earning a social security system that is fairer than it is now. They're getting a raise, it's not going to be that much at all. So anyway, those are just some thought.

Okay.

You know in.

Europe you get three quarters of what you were making when you quit when you retire. I mean, here you fall way down this systemic and it's just this isn't the answer, I don't think. But anyway, thank you.

Okay, thank you. John Well said we could have gotten one more in but that's okay. We're kind of up against it right now, Isaac. Best of luck with the strike.

Feel free to keep us posted on you how you're doing here. I'm going to ask you one final question. If you give me a quick answer, that'd be great. If you can't, no problem. What do you think overall the overall salary is for a hotel worker in greater Boston, in Boston within your union? Are we talking about someone making thirty thousand a year thirty five thousand a year? What do you think the salary the overall salary is unaverage?

I honestly don't have an average off the top of my head. Man, I'm sorry about that.

Not even not even a guess.

I mean, I know what I make, but I'm not really in other people's pockets like that.

What do you how much do you make as a cook?

Hey, you'll got to worry about that, bro.

Do me a favor.

Well, if you don't want to answer question, and you know, I'm really not your bro, I'm just trying to ask and help you out here and develop some I think when you don't answer questions like that, people become somewhat suspicious.

So look, thanks for doing it. I tried to help you as much as I could.

I wish you had been a little more forthcoming with me, because I think you would have won the support of a lot more people in all honesty, but thanks very much for being on.

Yeah, thanks for having me Dan. It was a great conversation.

Yep, right back at you have a good one. All right, here comes here eleven o'clock news. We will talk about it on the other side.