The Herald has photos and video of Unite Here Local 26's July 22nd rally in support of the Hyatt 100.

Over the past year, Hyatt's stock is up 40% and its housekeepers' wages are down 50%. Does this seem fair to you? The latest news is that Hyatt banned journalists from its shareholder meeting. Here's a pretty good segment from (of all places) Fox News. You may have to wait 15 seconds through an ad to see this. Also, here is an article on the protests held outside the meeting.

A recent story in Cambridge Day covers Cambridge's April 5th City Council Order in support of the Hyatt 100. Also, earlier this month New England Cable News ran this story on April 2nd about the Hyatt 100 and their situations since August 31st '09. Former Hyatt housekeeper Lucine Williams and Boston Globe Reporter Katie Johnson Chase appear in the story.

This letter appeared earlier in the week in the San Francisco Chronicle. It was written on behalf of hotel workers in San Francisco, but applies equally to the Hyatt 100 of Boston:

From the Chicago Tribune...

"Hyatt hasn't just insulted their workers, they've insulted the Torah, say more than 200 rabbis and cantors across the country who've signed a petition calling on the Chicago-based hotel chain to rehire 98 Boston housekeepers who were fired and replaced with cheaper, outsourced labor in August."

link: Rabbi delegation petitions Hyatt to rehire Boston housekeepers - chicagotribune.com

"In order for a boycott to be effective, the Hyatt must know that you choose to avoid it because of how they have treated their workers."

link: MIT’s Obligation to the Hyatt’s Workers - The Tech

Edit30 has a two-part analysis of how Hyatt has shot its brand in the foot, and what Hyatt's communications consultants might try next. However, in this case the simplest recommendation is the best: Hyatt should apologize and rehire those housekeepers.

Part 1 - Hyatt PR gaffe goes viral, global

Part 2 - Hyatt: Managing the Boston aftermath


From the article (pt 2):

"Then, of course, there is the issue of addressing employees’ concerns and bolstering morale. The “they’re just employees” attitude won’t cut it, especially now. This is a serious area in which Hyatt has previously fallen short, in Boston as well as elsewhere."

Read David Whitford's full editorial here.

An excerpt:

"... it may be too late to erase quickly the reputational damage. Already Hyatt's Wikipedia entry contains a reference to the incident. Bloggers from The Atlantic and Harvard Business Review have weighed in, unflatteringly. Now comes new pressure on Hyatt board member Penny Pritzker, whose cousin, Tom Pritzker, is chairman, and whose family controls most of the company's stock."

The Boston globe covers Hyatt's offer to extend jobs to the housekeepers here. There is also the press release from Hyatt, here. BlueMassGroup has a thread on its homepage, here.

This site will stay online for the foreseeable future.

Found on Vimeo

Housekeepers Get the Hyatt Touch from Chris Lovett on Vimeo.