PRESS RELEASE
from UNITE HERE
Contact: Wade Luneburg
UNITE HERE urges
Democratic National Convention Committee to choose host city that can
house guests in unionized facilities
Minneapolis and St. Louis are only two options of four finalist cities
WASHINGTON (Nov. 9, 2010) – UNITE HERE, which represents people who
work as housekeepers, waiters, dishwashers and cooks in hotels and
other facilities, asks the Democratic National Convention Committee
(DNCC) to choose the 2012 Democratic National Convention (DNC) host
city based on its ability to house a large number of delegates and
guests in unionized hotels and facilities.
According to UNITE HERE, only St. Louis and Minneapolis are among the
four finalist cities with the capacity to house a large portion of DNC
guests in unionized hotels.
“Employees at union hotels are far more likely than employees in
non-union hotels to get the sort of basic fair treatment for which the
Democratic Party stands,” said John W. Wilhelm, President of UNITE
HERE. “Charlotte and Cleveland do not meet the criteria when it comes
to union hotels and facilities and should be removed from the list of
finalist cities.”
Minneapolis has more than 20 union hotels and St. Louis has 10.
Additionally, employees at sporting event facilities and convention
centers in both St. Louis and Minneapolis are all union members.
UNITE HERE hopes the DNC Committee will not only support its members by
holding the 2012 convention in either St. Louis or Minneapolis, but
will also work with industry and political leaders to bring better jobs
and union organization to those in the hospitality industry.
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About
UNITE HERE!: UNITE HERE is the newly merged union of
hospitality, gaming, apparel, textile and laundry workers. The new
union represents nearly half a million workers in the U.S., Canada and
Puerto Rico. For more information, please see www.unitehere.org.