(cont.) It's important that people can go about their lives undisturbed, but this consideration is overruled by the need to raise awareness of abuse of vulnerable workers in our communities.
I think that a mild inconvience to local residents is a small price to pay for justice and fairness. In the long term, it's much more damaging to stand idlely by in a community whose fabric is being torn apart by injustice.
I apologize if you are being disturbed by these activities, but sometimes human situations involve trade-offs and sometimes there is collateral damage to some of the actions that people and groups perform. As you point out, there is a lack of " legal recourse in the court system". Therefore, there is a need to resort to other modes of action to forward the interests of the Sheraton workers.
(cont.) Obviously, I am happy to admit that I myself am, *gasp*, a collectivist. But I won't sit by & not address your misrepresentation of this event & the people & orgnizations behind it. I really don't think that any particular worldview is what is important but rather the facts behind HEI Hotels & the relationship they have with their employees. As is mentioned in the video, HEI Hotels has been documented as engaging in agressive cost-cutting at the expense of its employees.
If you actually watch the video you will see that this was not a DSA-ogranized event. It was organized by a coalition representing the workers of this hotel. benindc83 and I are DSA members but there were less than five DSA members who were actually at the protest. If you look closely at the picket line, most of the people are poor immigrant workers who probably don't know what DSA is. DSA was just there lending our support to people who are being mistreated.
The president of UNITE HERE, John Wilhelm, brings in a relatively modest salary of $248,000, although with disbursements it comes to $390,000.
Naturally, American workers object to their dues being spent on hefty salaries to union officials. That explains why the percent of private-sector workers who are unionized declined to 8% in 2005 from 24% in 1973.
(cont.)Most organizations have some kind of communications strategy. But large businesses have the advantage of having access to television, newspaper and corporate advertising. Because low-wage workers don't have the same means to communicate they form things like unions which then have communications strategies such as this one where they inform the public and raise publicity for themselves through demonstrations. It's not the case that this in any way "disgraceful" or "disrespectful"
@TheDCDSA For some reason, I find the constant screaming echoing off of my apartment building disrespectful to me and my neighbors. I find your activities disgraceful because you resort to punishing innocent people because you have no legal recourse in the court system. I understand that you do not view protests as being intrusive, but I do hope that you will consider using a more quiet method to get the money you want.
There is no use of strength for financial gain with these activities. When people stay at a hotel they tend not to check whether or not it is behaving ethically to it's workers -- this is true of most people for most businesses they patronize. This demonstration was a way of conveying information to the public and increasing public awareness -- without activities like this businesses could act with impunity.
how dare you disrespect and disgrace our community this way! your greedy use of strength to extort money out of businesses is shameful and should stop! if you wake me up one more time i am calling the police.
@Bdewist How has UNITE disrespected and disgraced the community? Last I checked, we live in a democratic country with freedom of speech and association. If you are really a Milton Friedman fan, you should support freedom. And who is EXTORTING businesses? I don't even know what you are trying to argue. Boycotts of hotels only go on when management is mistreating workers, not honoring contracts, etc - hardly extortion. As for waking you up, that's unfortunate, but this picket was at 6PM.
@benindc83 The pickets have been as early as 6AM in the past.
I am sorry to find that you do not view the use strength to gain financial benefit from a group of people as extortion. Boycotts go on for many reasons, but we all know the bottom line of UNITE is money. Your techinque is to make it cheaper for the hotel to give you more money than to loose guests.
@Halo4Lyf Glad you are so mature that you call people "collectivist dweebs." How do you know the picketers are collectivists - have you talked to all of them? Wanting to be treated fairly on the job and paid a wage you can actually live on doesn't sound collectivist to me. I don't recall anyone asking for the means of production to be turned over to workers. Do you even know what collectivism means? Sheratons have different management companies, so your idea doesn't make sense.
@
(cont.) It's important that people can go about their lives undisturbed, but this consideration is overruled by the need to raise awareness of abuse of vulnerable workers in our communities.
I think that a mild inconvience to local residents is a small price to pay for justice and fairness. In the long term, it's much more damaging to stand idlely by in a community whose fabric is being torn apart by injustice.
TheDCDSA 11 months ago
@Bdewist
I apologize if you are being disturbed by these activities, but sometimes human situations involve trade-offs and sometimes there is collateral damage to some of the actions that people and groups perform. As you point out, there is a lack of " legal recourse in the court system". Therefore, there is a need to resort to other modes of action to forward the interests of the Sheraton workers.
TheDCDSA 11 months ago
@Halo4Lyf
(cont.) Obviously, I am happy to admit that I myself am, *gasp*, a collectivist. But I won't sit by & not address your misrepresentation of this event & the people & orgnizations behind it. I really don't think that any particular worldview is what is important but rather the facts behind HEI Hotels & the relationship they have with their employees. As is mentioned in the video, HEI Hotels has been documented as engaging in agressive cost-cutting at the expense of its employees.
TheDCDSA 11 months ago
@Halo4Lyf
If you actually watch the video you will see that this was not a DSA-ogranized event. It was organized by a coalition representing the workers of this hotel. benindc83 and I are DSA members but there were less than five DSA members who were actually at the protest. If you look closely at the picket line, most of the people are poor immigrant workers who probably don't know what DSA is. DSA was just there lending our support to people who are being mistreated.
TheDCDSA 11 months ago
The president of UNITE HERE, John Wilhelm, brings in a relatively modest salary of $248,000, although with disbursements it comes to $390,000.
Naturally, American workers object to their dues being spent on hefty salaries to union officials. That explains why the percent of private-sector workers who are unionized declined to 8% in 2005 from 24% in 1973.
Bdewist 11 months ago
@Bdewist
(cont.)Most organizations have some kind of communications strategy. But large businesses have the advantage of having access to television, newspaper and corporate advertising. Because low-wage workers don't have the same means to communicate they form things like unions which then have communications strategies such as this one where they inform the public and raise publicity for themselves through demonstrations. It's not the case that this in any way "disgraceful" or "disrespectful"
TheDCDSA 11 months ago
@TheDCDSA For some reason, I find the constant screaming echoing off of my apartment building disrespectful to me and my neighbors. I find your activities disgraceful because you resort to punishing innocent people because you have no legal recourse in the court system. I understand that you do not view protests as being intrusive, but I do hope that you will consider using a more quiet method to get the money you want.
Bdewist 11 months ago
@Bdewist
There is no use of strength for financial gain with these activities. When people stay at a hotel they tend not to check whether or not it is behaving ethically to it's workers -- this is true of most people for most businesses they patronize. This demonstration was a way of conveying information to the public and increasing public awareness -- without activities like this businesses could act with impunity.
TheDCDSA 11 months ago
@benindc83 That said, I am only upset because you have made people who live in the neighborhood victims. We strongly resent your behavior.
Bdewist 11 months ago
how dare you disrespect and disgrace our community this way! your greedy use of strength to extort money out of businesses is shameful and should stop! if you wake me up one more time i am calling the police.
Bdewist 11 months ago
@Bdewist How has UNITE disrespected and disgraced the community? Last I checked, we live in a democratic country with freedom of speech and association. If you are really a Milton Friedman fan, you should support freedom. And who is EXTORTING businesses? I don't even know what you are trying to argue. Boycotts of hotels only go on when management is mistreating workers, not honoring contracts, etc - hardly extortion. As for waking you up, that's unfortunate, but this picket was at 6PM.
benindc83 11 months ago
@benindc83 The pickets have been as early as 6AM in the past.
I am sorry to find that you do not view the use strength to gain financial benefit from a group of people as extortion. Boycotts go on for many reasons, but we all know the bottom line of UNITE is money. Your techinque is to make it cheaper for the hotel to give you more money than to loose guests.
Bdewist 11 months ago
I'm going to stay at a Sheraton first opportunity I get just out of sheer spite against you collectivist dweebs.
Halo4Lyf 1 year ago
@Halo4Lyf Glad you are so mature that you call people "collectivist dweebs." How do you know the picketers are collectivists - have you talked to all of them? Wanting to be treated fairly on the job and paid a wage you can actually live on doesn't sound collectivist to me. I don't recall anyone asking for the means of production to be turned over to workers. Do you even know what collectivism means? Sheratons have different management companies, so your idea doesn't make sense.
benindc83 11 months ago
@benindc83 Yeah, sure. An organization called the Democrat Socialists of America doesn't sound collectivist in the *slightest.* My mistake.
Halo4Lyf 11 months ago
Great video! Much respect to the Sheraton workers, UNITE HERE, and DC JWJ.
benindc83 1 year ago