Entries by Sarah Lyons

Huffington Post: ‘He Was Masturbating… I Felt Like Crying’: What Housekeepers Endure To Clean Hotel Rooms

The housekeepers wore “No Harveys in Chicago” T-shirts to mark the ordinance’s passage. Among those celebrating was Cecilia, who had spent months rallying her colleagues around the cause. She hopes the new panic buttons will bring a sense of safety to workers like the young housekeeper she helped not even two months ago.
“It’s more security, and more support,” Cecilia said. “Trust me. You shouldn’t be scared to work.”

Chicago Tribune: Chicago moves to make hotels ‘No Harvey’ zones for housekeepers

” “This all started with women who are hotel workers being brave enough to share their stories and stand up and fight,” Valencia said. “They inspire me.”

Several of those hotel workers, along with Valencia, Harris and Karen Kent, Unite Here Local 1 president, cheered the ordinance Tuesday. They wore T-shirts emblazoned with disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein’s mug with a red line through it and dined on a cake bearing the same image.

“We’re calling them ‘No Harvey hotels’ because people need to know when they walk in, harassment is not going to be tolerated,” Valencia said. “

Slate: Barbara Ehrenreich: Worker Abuse Is Rampant, and Sexual Harassment Is Just the Start

“But I was also thinking about the numbers found by the hotel housekeepers union in Chicago, Unite Here. They found a shocking number, almost 60 percent of hotel housekeepers, reports being sexually harassed on the job. They go up to somebody’s room and there’s no one else there, and some guy tries something or is there with no clothes on while they try to do their jobs. This is routine.”

Chicago SunTimes: Double-whammy of mandates on Chicago hotels ; one whammy on hold

“The first of the measures approved by the City Council Wednesday follows an emotional appeal from hotel workers who claim to have been sexually harassed.

It requires hotels to provide employees working alone with portable panic buttons — akin to a Medic-Alert worn by senior citizens — that would alert hotel security. Instead of connecting the panic button to 911 and summoning overburdened police officers, Harris said she decided to trust hotel security.

The ordinance championed by Ald. Michelle Harris (8th) at the behest of Unite Here Local 1 would also require hotels to “develop, maintain and comply with a written, anti-sexual harassment policy.” “

Chicago SunTimes: Aldermen approve proposal to protect sexually harassed hotel staff

“Those are not just statistics to Cecilia, a 28-year veteran mini-bar attendant at a Chicago hotel who works alone in guest rooms.

“One day I knocked on the door of a guest room. The man inside answered, `You can come in.’ The man was sitting at his desk in front of a computer. I heard the sounds of the computer. I looked over and realized he was watching porn and masturbating,” Cecilia, who refused to give her last name, said through an interpreter.

“I was so horrified and afraid. I ran from the room. The experience left me feeling dirty and without dignity. And since that experience, I felt scared about what could happen every time I open the door to a guest room. Having a panic button would make me feel safer. To know I could easily call for help if something happens would be such a relief.” “

Chicago Tribune: Chicago hotels would have to give workers ‘panic buttons’ under plan aldermen advance

“Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, underscored the imbalance hotel workers face. “Who does the hotel manager believe if a complaint is filed, the powerless employee or the executive paying hundreds of dollars in room charges with a corporate platinum American Express card?” Burke asked. “Without safeguards in place, it’s the employee who’s exposed and vulnerable to the abuser and even, at times, the hotel management.” “

Open Democracy: “Hands Off Pants On”: time to end gender-based abuse in the hotel industry

“Hotel housekeepers, bartenders, waitresses and cocktail servers – the majority of whom are women of color and immigrants – form the backbone of Chicago’s booming hospitality and tourism industry. Now these women are speaking out about their experiences of widespread and disturbing sexual harassment from guests. And they are calling for an end to the abuse. “