Crowne Plaza Workers Call for Boycott

On November 17, workers at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Secaucus marched into their human resources office and let the manager know they had come to a decision: That the new owner’s disrespect for the workers and the property is so intense that they have no choice but to ask people not to stay at the hotel. They are calling for a boycott of their own hotel because they see no other way to make the employer respect the contract, respect the law and respect the workers who have made the hotel a success.

The Crowne Plaza Hotel was bought by a new owner, a company named Rosdev, in December 2004, and within a month Rosdev began making unilateral changes in the workplace—in violation of the union contract and the law. Rosdev wants to strip them of rights and benefits they’ve worked years and years to achieve. The workers and the union have filed, and won, charges against the company at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The company has appealed those rulings. The union’s negotiating committee, eight workers from the hotel, has met with the company and bargained in good faith. But the company has refused further meetings.

Crowne Plaza workers have fought back on the streets as well at the NLRB. In September hundreds of union members from all over the metropolitan area came out and rallied in solidarity with the workers. Now they are taking their fight for their rights to a new level by asking everyone to stand with them by refusing to patronize a hotel that breaks the law, violates the contract and disrespects the workers.