Joey Quits (worker quits job w/ marching band at Renaissance Providence Hotel)

Support workers standing up to abuses at this hotel, the Renaissance Providence: http://signon.org/sign/support-renais...
Support our effort to end tip theft: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-97eXc...

Visit http://www.joeyquits.com for more info on our campaigns and to hear stories from other hotel and restaurant workers!

Follow at http://twitter.com/#!/JoeyQuits
and http://facebook.com/JoeyQuits
Email joeyquits@gmail.com for press or info on submitting a story

Video of Joey L DeFrancesco quitting the Renaissance Providence Downtown Hotel Filmed by Jori Ketten, featuring the What Cheer? Brigade
http://www.whatcheerbrigade.com

I want to give a little context for the many of you who don't know me:

I worked in this hotel for 3.5 years. I worked while going to school full time to pay my tuition and living expenses. This was not a job I had for two weeks before quitting in a hissy-fit.

The working conditions in the hotel are horrendous. In the kitchen, workers are regularly forced to work 10, 11, 14, 16 hour shifts that begin at 5:30AM and last well into the night. Housekeepers are reprimanded if they fail to clean 16 rooms or more in a 9 hour shift. Anyone who speaks up—especially anyone who is openly pro-union—is disciplined or fired. Managers, like Jared, scream down employees daily.

I worked extremely hard to change the conditions in the hotel. My co-workers and I regularly organized ourselves to push back against management and demand respect. I was also one of many workers who led the fight to organize a formal union at the hotel. For legal reasons I must mention that this specific action was an individual decision and had nothing to do with the union.

The hotel has yet to recognize our union, and they continue a vicious union-busting campaign. They punish and fire pro-union workers, spread lies in captive-audience meetings, and generally attempt to scare the workers out of joining the union. Still, through just being organized and threatening to form a union, we've won countless victories, including raises, new uniforms, lower housekeeper room quotas, etc.

This video is a hilarious byproduct of a long and ongoing struggle in the Renaissance Providence and hotels throughout the country.

© Copyright 2011 Jori Ketten / Joey DeFrancesco / The What Cheer? Brigade

Contact: joeyquits@gmail.com

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[Bridget tweeter]

YEA JOEY YOU are awesome for all of us who cant quit and dont have a marching band even if we could. And YEA I saw you on 20/20

[Joey DeFrancesco]

Thanks for all the support everyone who saw the 20/20 segment! Please also check out the other videos in the description/channel page to see what the workers are doing to fight back at this hotel and to learn about our campaign to end tip theft!

[Heat Hawks]

im here because of 20/20..

[SUNNY D]

I'm here beacause of 20/20

[Shady D]

lol pwned

[Scott Hempler]

Best way to go out.

[Tostitos78]

Sounds like a little diva...

[Gary Booth]

I am very proud that you guys are taking a stand! Hopefully your actions will have an effect on many Americans in other industries as well. Everybody has been taken of advantage of for far too long. Good luck!

[japantz]

i'm not here because of 20/20, but this video was epic anyway

[James Millsaps]

I'm here because you're awesome Joey!

[Nadia Juhnke]

I, too, saw this on 20/20. Yay!