[PDI] Fwd: Humiliating

*** SENT THROUGH PDI MAILING LIST ***
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Kaytee Riek, SumOfUs.org" <us@sumofus.org>
Date: May 2, 2012 12:15 PM
Subject: Humiliating
To: "Daniel A. Stafford" <aquarianm@gmail.com>

Hyatt housekeepers Martha & Lorena Reyes were humiliated in front of
coworkers, then fired a few weeks later.

*Tell Hyatt to give them their jobs back.*
[image: Reyes sisters]<http://act.sumofus.org/go/385?akid=428.596245.NIIH5o&t=1>

[image: click to sign the
petition]<http://act.sumofus.org/go/385?akid=428.596245.NIIH5o&t=2>

Dear Daniel,


Martha Reyes walked in the employee entrance of the Santa Clara Hyatt
Regency to the sound of her male colleagues laughing.

She believed they were laughing at her.

It was "Housekeeping Appreciation Week" at the Hyatt and to celebrate, *a
digitally altered photo collage of Hyatt Housekeepers' faces* -- including
Martha's and her sister Lorena's -- *superimposed on bikini-clad
cartoon-bodies* was posted on a bulletin board at work.

She felt humiliated and embarrassed. But she knew her sister Lorena -- also
a housekeeper at Hyatt -- would be even more so. *Martha tore the posters
of her and her sister down.* Then, with management present, a coworker told
Martha she needed to return the photos.

She refused and said if they wanted it back, they'd have to take her to
court.

*Hyatt management fired Martha and Lorena just a few weeks later.*

Sign our petition to Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian asking him to apologize to
Martha and Lorena and reinstate them with full back-pay. The Reyes sisters
and community allies will deliver it next week to Hyatt
officials.<http://act.sumofus.org/go/385?akid=428.596245.NIIH5o&t=3>

They were fired for allegedly taking too long on their lunch break. But we
don't buy that excuse for a second. Here's why:

Martha and Lorena worked at that hotel as housekeepers for 7 and 24 years
respectively. During that time, *the Reyes sisters were good employees*. On
the day she was fired, the HR Director told Martha she was an "excellent
worker" and that there hadn't been any complaints about her. Before the day
Lorena was fired, she had never in her 24 years been written up for a
single break violation.

*The firing of the Reyes sisters is a new low, even for Hyatt.*

What happened to the Reyes sisters is just another example of Hyatt's
culture of disrespect for its workers: *Hyatt housekeepers have high rates
of injury*, and in 2011 various state and federal agencies issued 18
citations against Hyatt for alleged safety violations. Hyatt has even
lobbied against new laws that would make housekeeping work safer.

Martha is the mother of five children and fears *she may lose her house*.
Lorena is a mother of three and is struggling as the sole supporter of her
family. As long-time employees of Hyatt, the Reyes sisters deserve some
basic decency and the right to complain about their workplace without being
fired.

As potential Hyatt customers, we have to draw the line. Sexually degrading
housekeeping staff is unacceptable by any measure and the CEO of should
take responsibility for Hyatt's culture of disrespect for its workers now.

Tell Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian to apologize to the Reyes sisters and
reinstate them with full
back-pay.<http://act.sumofus.org/go/385?akid=428.596245.NIIH5o&t=4>

With May Day just passed -- a day when people all over the world pause to
acknowledge the work of people like Martha and Lorena -- we at SumOfUs.org
are humbled by workers like the Reyes sisters who dare to stand up for
their rights. We are proud to stand with them, and join our partners at
UNITE-HERE, in demanding justice for the two sisters.

- Kaytee, Taren, and the rest of us
<http://www.sumofus.org?akid=428.596245.NIIH5o&t=5> SumOfUs is a
world-wide movement of people like you, working together to hold
corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable
path for our global economy. You can follow us on
Twitter<http://www.twitter.com/sum_of_us>,
and like us on Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/pages/SumOfUs/181924628560212>.


Was this email forwarded to you? Click
here<http://sumofus.org?akid=428.596245.NIIH5o&t=6>to add yourself to
SumOfUs.

If you don't want to receive emails from us anymore, you can remove
yourself aquarianm@gmail.com from our list by clicking
here<http://sumofus.org/unsubscribe?email=aquarianm@gmail.com&akid=428.596245.NIIH5o&t=7>.
But just know, we'll miss you!
_______________________________________________
PDI mailing list
PDI@illinoisprogressives.org
http://illinoisprogressives.org/mailman/listinfo/pdi_illinoisprogressives.org

This message was sent to aquarianm.pd-il@blogger.com.
To unsubscribe, visit the URL above, or email webmaster@illinoisprogressives.org for assistance.