Contract win at Westin Providence

March 7, 2011 7:00 PM

Since the expiration of their contract at the end of October 2009, union workers at the Westin Providence, in Providence, Rhode Island, have been fighting for a new contract. Their efforts paid off when they recently approved a new three-year contract by a decisive 114-4 vote.

According to articles in The Providence Journal, after their union contract had expired, management cut workers' wages by 20 per cent and simultaneously tripled the amount workers had been paying for their health insurance. It also raised the room attendants' daily quota from 15 to 17.

The new contract redresses management's harsh unilateral actions, including its raising of the daily room quota. It also provides for a wage increase and reimbursement for some of the workers' lost wages, as well as bonuses and profit-sharing arrangements at a later date.