Hotel workers seeking a new contract and protesting staff cuts and working conditions staged a sit-in in front of a Hyatt Hotels Corp flagship Chicago hotel on Thursday.
Hotel workers demonstrated in front of the Hyatt Regency Chicago and other hotel properties in 15 localities from Boston to Hawaii, demanding new contracts, better treatment, or both.
Some two hundred workers arranged in advance with police to be arrested for blockading the hotel.
The Pritzker family of Chicago controls Hyatt, but floated a quarter of the company in November 2009, making about $950 million.
“Workers should give voice to their complaints at the bargaining table, instead of trying to drum up membership with street protests”, a Hyatt spokeswoman said.
Bookings have rebounded from a sluggish 2009 at top-tier hotel chains such as Hyatt, Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
