Initiative 124: What It Means To Hotel Workers

Recently, Seattle voters approved Initiative 124 protecting hotel workers from assault, sexual harassment and on the job injury. Last month, Unite Here Local 8 Organizer Natalie Kelley interviewed a hotel houseman for KBCS about what Initiative 124 means to hotel workers.

Hotel Housekeeping

Many of us has stayed in hotels and motels while on business or vacation. Natalie Kelley, Organizer with Unite Here Local 8 spoke with a hotel housekeeper who cleans up after our visits, Yen Deng. Deng describes what she faces while on the job.

Union hotel housekeepers are known to have quality and affordable health coverage, but in a study of hotel workers by Puget Sound Sage, 97 percent reported that they suffer work related pain.

What Its Like To Be A Hotel Housekeeper

Seattle voters recently passed Initiative 124 to protect hotel workers from sexual harassment and on the job injuries. Northwest Hospitality Union Local 8 organizer Olga Chavaria spoke with Sonia Guevara, a Union Local 8 hotel housekeeper, about obstacles she faces cleaning hotel rooms full time.

A Law To Protect Hotel Workers Is Being Challenged

Last fall, Seattle voters passed Initiative 124 by nearly 77 percent.  However, in late December, the hotel industry filed a lawsuit against Seattle in an effort to overturn the measure to protect hotel workers from on-the-job sexual harassment and workplace injuries.  KBCS’s Yuko Kodama interviewed Abby Lawlor, Northwest Hospitality Union Local 8 representative about this matter.