Renaissance Providence Hotel workers vote to join union

RENAISSANCE HOTEL PROVIDENCE workers rally after a vote Thursday in which the majority chose to join a union. / COURTESY UNITE HERE LOCAL 217
RENAISSANCE HOTEL PROVIDENCE workers rally after a vote Thursday in which the majority chose to join a union. / COURTESY UNITE HERE LOCAL 217

(Updated 11:30 a.m.)
PROVIDENCE – Renaissance Providence Hotel workers voted to join Unite Here Local 217 on Thursday, with 23 in favor and 17 opposed.
After votes were counted Thursday evening, workers rallied to demand that the hotel’s owner, The Procaccianti Group, begin bargaining a contract, according to a news release from the union.
“I am so proud that we decided to join the union today,” Raquel Cruz, a Renaissance Providence housekeeper, said in a statement. “We are breaking the cycle of racial inequity with higher wages and benefits so that everyone in Providence moves forward.”
Ralph V. Izzi Jr., vice president of corporate marketing and public affairs for The Procaccianti Group, wrote in an email that once results of the “extremely close election receive certification from the National Labor Relations Board, the hotel will respect the results of the vote” and move toward a “civil bargaining process.”
“Since day one, the hotel has remained in steadfast support of workers’ rights as defined by the National Labor Relations Act and has advocated for the exact same democratic process (secret ballot election) that occurred [Thursday],” Izzi wrote.
Union leadership said the election had been years in the making, as hotel ownership had tried to prevent employees from organizing. However, Izzi had said the hotel ownership never opposed a union election, but wanted to make sure it was conducted according to NLRB rules, which include a secret ballot vote.

“Unfortunately, prior to today’s election the professional union organizers pursued strategies beyond the bounds of the legally defined process. Had they chosen from the beginning to pursue the same process that occurred [Thursday], the hotel, the workers, the city of Providence and most importantly, our hotels guests, would have been spared a tremendous amount of unnecessary anxiety and exposure to extreme negativity,” Izzi wrote.

With Thursday’s vote, Renaissance Providence will become the third hotel whose workers have voted to unionize, following the Omni Providence Hotel and Providence Biltmore Hotel, according to Guy Rossman, a representative for Local 217.
He said he was not sure how many workers did not vote, but approximately 50 housekeepers and laundry workers were eligible. He said the hotel ran a campaign to discourage voting.
According to the news release from the union, which cited census information, the typical housekeeper in Providence is a Hispanic woman making less than $25,000 annually. Rossman said Omni’s most recent union hotel contract specified that the lowest wage for housekeepers is $15.96 per hour, equivalent to approximately $34,000 annually.
Rossman said Renaissance Providence housekeepers start at $10.25 an hour, with increases at the management’s discretion. Cruz has said she makes $12.24 an hour – approximately $25,000 a year – and has been at the hotel for seven years.
The release said that this workforce “earns significantly less than the median income for both white male and female full-time workers (at $52,543 and $44,007 respectively).”
“Data shows that union hotels in Providence increase racial equity with higher wages and better benefits. Given the demographics of the hotel workforce in Providence, any increase in wages or benefits would disproportionately benefit women and people of color,” the release said.

Workers, who rallied with signs with the number 56 crossed out, said the signs represent the desire to close the Latina wage gap. Nationally on average, Latino women earn 56 cents to the dollar that white, non-Hispanic males make, the release said.

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