CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hyatt announced today that Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing and Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center associates overwhelmingly ratified agreements recently for new five-year contracts with UniteHere Local 274 and UniteHere Local 23, respectively, giving Hyatt associates the wage and benefit increases they deserve.
These contracts, effective through December 2017 in Philadelphia and February 2018 in Denver, come on the heels of an agreement to a five-year contract with UniteHere Local 30 at Hyatt Regency Mission Bay in San Diego. They follow other agreements made with UniteHere local leadership in Washington, D.C., New York, Monterey, Calif., and Toronto, as well as various unions, including the Teamsters, SEIU, the Longshoremen, and Workers United.
These new agreements reaffirm Hyatt’s commitment to offer competitive wages and benefits to associates and to maintain a positive workplace environment. With all of these contracts, Hyatt Regency Philadelphia, Hyatt Regency Denver and Hyatt Regency Mission Bay associates will receive wage increases and increased employer contributions to pension and healthcare.
These agreements demonstrate how negotiations can benefit associates when both sides focus on what is best for those individuals represented by UniteHere. It also marks a stark contrast to the demands being made by UniteHere leaders elsewhere. While Hyatt has shown its resolve in forging strong and productive relationships with many of the unions that represent its associates – including these UniteHere locals in Philadelphia and other cities – it is unfortunate that UniteHere leadership in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Waikiki do not follow the example of their colleagues.
Unlike the unreasonable UniteHere contract demands in these four cities, none of the three contracts in Philadelphia, Denver or San Diego were conditioned upon Hyatt giving up the rights of its associates to a democratic, secret ballot election for union representation in other cities, and none of the three contracts insisted on an unacceptable provision that would allow the union to strike during the contract term.
For more than three years, in an effort to pressure Hyatt to give up the democratic rights of some non-union associates to participate in a secret ballot vote on whether they want to be represented by a union, UniteHere leadership has denied their members in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Waikiki a vote on Hyatt’s contract proposals. These proposals contain the wage and benefit increases Hyatt associates deserve and are the same as what UniteHere accepted at Starwood and Hilton hotels in these cities years ago.
“Hyatt will not give up the right of our associates to determine their union status through a democratic process,” said Russ Melaragni, vice president of employee relations, Hyatt. “We will continue to do the right thing for our associates and call on UniteHere leadership in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Waikiki to follow the example set by their colleagues around the country and allow their members to vote on our offers.”
About Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company with a proud heritage of making guests feel more than welcome. Thousands of members of the Hyatt family strive to make a difference in the lives of the guests they encounter every day by providing authentic hospitality. The Company's subsidiaries manage, franchise, own and develop hotels and resorts under the Hyatt®, Park Hyatt®, Andaz®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt Place® and Hyatt HouseTM brand names and have locations on six continents. Hyatt Residential Group, Inc., a Hyatt Hotels Corporation subsidiary, develops, operates, markets or licenses Hyatt ResidencesTM and Hyatt Residence ClubTM. As of December 31, 2012, the Company's worldwide portfolio consisted of 500 properties in 46 countries. For more information, please visit www.hyatt.com.