Chicago’s hotel workers union found itself in a fight over Labor Day weekend with a River North hotel, saying its actions are illegal.
The Kinzie Hotel, 20 W. Kinzie St., has locked out 13 employees who belong to Unite Here Local 1. The union said the lockout, which it called illegal, started Saturday and remains in effect. Several labor leaders supported the workers at a rally Monday outside the hotel.
In August, Unite Here celebrated three-year contracts with major hotel operators downtown except with some properties such as Kinzie.
The employees were given a letter from General Manager Karen Criss saying they had engaged in an “economic strike” and that the hotel was hiring replacement workers, with no guarantee of jobs for those being locked out.
The letter, obtained by the Sun-Times, referred to informational picketing the workers set up outside the hotel Friday. Local 1 spokesperson Sarah Lyons said the picketers were not on duty at the time and that informational picketing is allowed under federal law.
Criss did not respond to a request for comment.
“This came as a total surprise. I don’t know why [Kinzie] can take this action,” said Jose Sanchez, who was among the workers barred from reporting for duty. He has worked at Kinzie for 16 years and said the hotel “tossed us into the street like trash.”
The union’s contract with the hotel expired Aug. 31. Lyons said management had agreed to major terms of a new bargaining agreement, including raises, but had wanted to revise some “minor issues.” The union will demand the workers be reinstated at a bargaining session Thursday, she said.
Lyons said that on Friday, the day after contract expiration, the union also conducted informational picketing at the the Hampton Inn Majestic hotel at 22 W. Monroe St. She said the hotel did not retaliate for the picketing.
Concerning the union contract, Criss wrote, “The only issues left to resolve are minor requests that Unite Here has not yet responded to in substance. We hope to resolve the agreement soon.”
The Kinzie is a boutique 210-room hotel on the lower floors of an office building.
Unite Here last month reached agreements with hotels under Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott management. A few days later, six more hotels joined the agreements, including the Ritz-Carlton and the Fairmont.
The union said the contracts cover 31 hotels and call for a minimum $25 per hour for non-tipped workers, a stronger pension and a requirement that hotels clean guest rooms daily, a practice some modified during COVID-19.
The situation stands in contrast to the last round of hotel talks in 2018, when thousands of workers went on strike.
