Bring MIA Back! Hospitality Workers at Miami International Airport Demand Concessions Companies Open All Stores and Raise Wages

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR—THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2021

CONTACT: MJ Leira, [email protected], (917) 565-7697

WHO: Approx. 40 UNITE HERE Local 355 hospitality union workers.

WHAT: Press conference. RSVP HERE.

WHERE: Miami International Airport — Door 1 Departures.

WHEN: Thursday, October 28, 2021, at 11:00 AM.

As workers across the country mobilize during “Striketober,” and employers raise salaries, Miami International Airport workers are demanding airport concessions companies open up and pay higher wages.

Despite relief to MIA companies, the three largest concessionaires at MIA had nearly one third of their shops closed last month. Travelers are complaining of long lines due to the closures and former employees have left for higher paying jobs elsewhere. To bring MIA back, concessions companies must open all outlets and pay workers a fair wage.

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UNITE HERE Local 355 is the hospitality workers’ union in South Florida, representing over 7,000 workers in hotels, gaming, restaurants and food service, and airports. Ninety-eight percent of its members were laid off at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and sixty percent remain out of work today.

Miami Airport Concessions Workers Speak to Residents about Necessary Relief for Miami Airport Businesses

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR—Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Contact: MJ Leira, [email protected]

As residents are coming back to work, the airport needs financial relief and workers need the living wage.

WHO: UNITE HERE Local 355 concessions workers at Miami International Airport and allies.

WHAT: Press conference with hospitality workers from Miami International Airport followed by a door hanging action in Miami-Dade County neighborhoods.

WHERE: Miami International Airport Departures Door 1, 2100 NW 42nd Ave, Miami, FL 33142

WHEN: Wednesday, July 7 at 10:00 AM. RSVP Here.

VISUALS: Concessions workers will deliver a letter with 600+ signatories to the Aviation Director, and afterwards canvass County neighborhoods asking voters to  “Please tell the Commissioners you support MIA concessions workers.” Workers will meet outside Miami International Airport Door 1.

*Interviews with Miami International Airport workers available immediately as well as opportunities to follow workers speaking to residents after the press conference.*

Contact: MJ Leira at [email protected]

Before the pandemic, Miami-Dade Commissioners voted to give airport concession workers a modest pay raise and basic health care. Today, workers are finally getting back to work, but their companies are still trying to recover from the toll of COVID-19.

Airport concessions workers are asking their County Commissioners to reach an agreement with airport companies that allows them to pay the raise the Commissioners voted for. Many concessions workers have lived and worked near the airport for decades. They will canvass neighborhoods in every County Commission district to rally support for the airport recovery effort. If Miami-Dade is going to recover as a county, airport concessionaires deserve relief.

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UNITE HERE Local 355 is a labor union that represents over 7,000 members in South Florida’s hospitality industry working in hotels, casinos, restaurants, stadiums, and airports. Over 50% of its members remain out of work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hospitality Workers Call on Broward County Commissioners to Ensure Their Return When Business Comes Back

Now is the time to create more middle-class Union jobs in the South, not eliminate them.

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR MONDAY, APRIL 12

Contact: MJ Leira, (917) 565-7697, [email protected]

WHO: Laid off hospitality workers from the Diplomat Beach Resort

WHAT: Laid off employees fight to get their jobs back by talking to residents in Broward County. They will distribute 10,000 doorhangers highlighting profiles of workers who have been laid off during the pandemic.

WHERE: Broward County Office: 115 S Andrews Ave Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

WHEN: Monday, April 12 at 10:00 AM

Over 650 long-term workers at the Diplomat Beach Resort have a looming deadline of losing their hard-earned Union jobs next month. As South Florida’s tourism industry rebounds laid-off housekeepers, cooks, bellmen, and banquet servers at the Diplomat Beach Resort are leading the way on behalf of all hospitality workers, by calling on Broward County Commissioners to prioritize their return to work.

Layoffs have created an economic impact in Broward County that will leave long-term consequences for its residents. The median hourly wage for a housekeeper in Fort Lauderdale is $11.23 compared to their Union job at the Diplomat at $15.50.

The Diplomat, along with all hotels in Broward County, has a moral obligation to give workers the reassurance that once tourism comes back, their employees will get their jobs back. Laid-off workers have joined their Union, UNITE HERE Local 355, to fight for their right to return to work. Now is the time to create more middle-class union jobs in the South, not eliminate them.

*Opportunities to follow laid-off hospitality workers speaking to residents in Broward County will be available.

UNITE HERE Local 355 is a labor union that represents over 7,000 members in the hospitality industry working in hotels, casinos, restaurants, stadiums, and airports. Over 75% of its members are still out of work as a result.

Crowded Spring Break Presents Pandemic Risk

MEDIA ADVISORY for Thursday, March 25

MJ Leira, [email protected] (917) 565-7697

Hospitality Workers Union Launches National Effort to Register Laid-Off Workers for Health Care Coverage through the American Rescue Plan

WHO: UNITE HERE Local 355 laid-off hospitality workers alongside community allies.

WHAT: National launch to register workers for 100% COBRA coverage under President Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

WHERE: Diplomat Beach Resort, 3555 S Ocean Dr, Hollywood, FL 33019.

WHEN: Thursday, March 25 at 10:30 am.

WHY:

Spring break has put Floridians at greater risk across the State. Hollywood Beach’s laid-off hotel workers are eager to receive health care coverage to stay protected during this pandemic.

South Florida’s hospitality workers Union, UNITE HERE Local 355, will launch a COBRA health care registration program included in President Biden’s Relief Plan. The 100% COBRA subsidy in the American Rescue Plan means that laid off Americans will have the option to extend their workplace healthcare insurance for free for six months. As the Diplomat Beach Resort makes its plans to reopen, its nearly 650 union employees have been cut from their employer-paid health insurance.

Hotel housekeepers, servers, cooks, and bartenders at the Diplomat Beach Resort faced layoffs at the peak of the shutdowns and as a result hundreds of families were cut from their health care coverage, disproportionately affecting Black and Latinx workers. Now these workers are demanding guarantees that they will be brought back to work as the business comes back.

During the presidential election, 300 UNITE HERE Florida laid-off hospitality workers knocked on over 450,000 doors statewide to elect President Biden. They then went on to Georgia to join Stacey Abrams and others to take back the Senate, knocking on over 1.5 million doors to win transformative relief for workers and their families.

On the One-Year Anniversary of the Pandemic Hundreds of Hospitality Workers Remain Out of Work

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, March 12, 2021

MJ Leira, [email protected]

Diplomat Beach Resort Workers Demand Their Jobs Back as the Hotel Prepares for a Tourism Come Back Without Its Long-Term Workers

DOWNLOAD PHOTOS AND VIDEOS HERE

 HOLLYWOOD, FL—March marks one year since COVID-19 left millions of Americans out of work. For hospitality workers across South Florida, many are left with no guarantee that they’ll return to their jobs. Hundreds of laid-off housekeepers, cooks, bellmen, and banquet servers at the Diplomat Beach Resort gathered in front of the hotel on Friday morning for their right to return to work. As the Diplomat Beach Resort makes its plans to reopen, it has not committed to bring back 650 employees who have contributed decades of work to keep the hotel running.

“Workers were laid off through no fault of their own. The Diplomat, along with all hotels in Broward County, has a moral obligation to give workers the reassurance that once tourism comes back, their employees will get their jobs back,” said Wendi Walsh UNITE HERE Local 355 Secretary-Treasurer. “What you’re seeing today is a public demonstration that workers are ready to return to work.  The demand to Diplomat’s owner, Brookfield, is simple: As business returns, so should your long-term, loyal employees.”

Most of these workers are women and people of color who have lived and worked in South Florida for decades. Laid-off workers have joined with their Union, UNITE HERE Local 355, to fight for their right to return to their jobs.

“I’ve worked in the hospitality industry for over 40 years—this is what I love,” said Harry East Banquet Server at the Diplomat Beach Resort. “I canvassed in the primary and presidential elections because I knew that we needed to put people in power that support workers. Now, it’s time for us to see support from Broward Democrats to make sure the Diplomat calls us back. We’ve dedicated our lives to make the hotel what it is today, and they’ve tossed us aside like we meant nothing.”

While the tourism industry is coming back, its long-time workers are not. Diplomat hotel housekeepers, cooks, servers, and bellmen gathered today to demand that the hotel brings back their employees.

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UNITE HERE Local 355 is a labor union that represents over 7,000 members in the hospitality industry working in hotels, casinos, restaurants, stadiums, and airports. Over 75% of its members are still out of work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, down from a peak of 98%.

Hospitality Workers Fight to Keep their Jobs Ahead of the Holiday Season

Labor Union to distribute gifts to 700 workers and their families laid off during COVID-19

MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact:

Wendi Walsh

[email protected]

(305) 934-7373

WHO: Over 700 UNITE HERE Local 355 laid off hospitality workers alongside Miami Gardens City Council member Reggie Leon, and allies.

WHAT: Holiday giveaway of supermarket gift cards and holiday presents ranging from kids toys to gifts for adults for workers who have been laid off since March as they call attention to the need for recall rights and unemployment extension.

WHERE: Betty T. Ferguson Recreational Complex, 3000 NW 199th St, Miami Gardens, FL 33056

WHEN: Friday, December 18 at 11:00 am

WHY: Thousands of South Florida’s hospitality workers who have been furloughed from hotels, casinos, stadiums, and airport concessions have been out of work for more than 9 months. Florida’s abysmal unemployment assistance and the end of all federal aid leaves these workers scrambling for the holiday. The Union for hospitality workers, UNITE HERE, and the Hospitality Employees Advancement and Training Center, HEAT Inc, have partnered to provide some relief to these workers. More than 700 workers will be receiving supermarket gift cards and holiday presents ranging from kids toys to gifts for adults.

 

UNITE HERE employed more than 350 hospitality workers in Florida, and over 1,500 nationally in Nevada, Arizona, and Pennsylvania, to deliver the Presidency for Joe Biden. The Union also had those canvassers knocking doors to support now Mayor Daniella Levine Cava as well as several candidates for County Commission. Florida’s UNITE HERE members are now canvassing to get out the vote in Georgia’s senate races. The stakes are high for UNITE HERE members as they continue to campaign for federal unemployment assistance and other forms of support for laid off workers.

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UNITE HERE Local 355 is a labor union that represents over 7,000 members working in the hotel, gaming, food service, and airport