Pickets march at Rosemont Hyatt over stalled negotiations

About three dozen employees walked a picket line at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Rosemont Friday as part of a limited-strike by employees of Hyatt Hotels Corp.

Despite the protest, Hyatt officials said they are confident they will be able to provide guests with the highest levels of comfort and hospitality.

Employees said they are fed up with unsuccessful contract negotiations with the hotel chain.

"Hyatt and the people who run the company have been using the recession as an excuse to lock workers into a bad long-term contract," said Local 450 spokeswoman Annemarie Strassel.

The union has been negotiating with Hyatt for more than a year, but the two groups have yet to ink a new deal. Contracts covering more than 8,000 employees at Chicago area hotels expired on Aug. 30, 2009.

The employees' main complaints are what they see as under staffing and a proposed health insurance cut for new workers. Union members said the hotel chain wants to eliminate the option of family health insurance for new employees in the contract.

"We have lost a lot of employees in general," said George Peredez, a banquet cook at the Hyatt for three years. "Now they are talking about bringing down our benefits as well, which I think is really unfair."

The union authorized the strike on July 29, with 92 percent of its members voting in favor. This is the first time they have taken action on that vote. The employees planned to picket in front of the hotel until 10 p.m. Friday.

Union members are concerned that the hotel might try to lock them out in the coming weeks and bring in temporary workers.

"Last week they paraded about 30 temporary workers through the building to try to intimidate workers," Strassel said.

About 400 union members work at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare, while 1,600 work at Chicago Hyatts, who are also striking, Strassel said.

The Rosemont hotel is one of numerous planned protests nationally. Employees at Hyatt's in Honolulu, Los Angeles, Boston, and Indianapolis are also expected to protest during the Labor Day weekend.

The company said it has been negotiating in several markets across the country in good faith and respecting the current contract as talks continue, while the union is doing things aimed at disrupting business, according to a statement e-mailed when employees walked out at about 7 a.m. Friday.

"In contrast to the respect we are showing for the negotiation process, union leadership has chosen tactics aimed at inconveniencing guests rather than come to the bargaining table to find solutions...," the statement said. "We are disappointed that ... the union is choosing instead to disrupt business at Hyatt Regency O'Hare."

Hyatt officials also said union leadership intentionally delayed a return to the bargaining table in nearly every city, and that leadership "clearly prefers to focus its energy on disruptive tactics."

Workers at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki have also walked out, the Associated Press reported. Unite Here Local 5 in Honolulu said the job action ran between 3:30 a.m. through 9:30 p.m. Thursday. Union officials there said the union members authorized the "limited duration strike" last week.