Dolores Huerta supports the boycott of the Hilton Long Beach
Participants in the Inspiring Activist Awards Night, held outside the Hilton Long Beach.
September 27, 9:00am | Reporting by Greggory Moore | The Long Beach Post has obtained an op-ed Dolores Huerta submitted to the Press-Telegram that urged the paper to move its Amazing Women Awards gala to another venue due to what Huerta calls the hotel’s “mistreatment of employees.”
Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers Union (UFW) with Cesar Chavez in 1962, submitted the op-ed to the Press-Telegram on September 12, says the Long Beach Coalition for Good Jobs and a Healthy Community. The Coalition states it has followed up with the Press-Telegram three times regarding the op-ed, receiving no response.
Huerta’s op-ed appears below in its entirety:
[Title:] Celebrating some women, mistreating others
On September 15, the Press-Telegram will hold its annual Amazing Women Awards at the Hilton Long Beach. Undoubtedly, many deserving women will receive recognition for their contributions to the community. But to hold this positive event at the downtown Hilton — a hotel mired in controversy for its mistreatment of employees — is a mistake.
As we made gains in the United Farm Workers — brought bathrooms to the lettuce fields, won better pay and healthcare, eliminated the bracero program — I may have been the most visible woman in the fight, but there were countless women who deserved recognition for the courage they demonstrated standing up for the rights.
It was the nameless woman, 22, belly bulging as her due date neared. She picked grapes ceaselessly in the hot sun. She inhaled pesticides and handled plants soaked in them. She needed every penny she could earn. But when the time came to join la huegla, she thought of the son she was expecting. She, and countless other women like her, mustered the courage to risk everything and strike. It took guts.
In my experience, it was always the women who made the family’s final decision whether to support the boycott or strike, to take big risks in the name of justice.
So, I wasn’t surprised when I heard that the workers fired for speaking up about exploitative working conditions at the Hilton Long Beach were women, immigrants and mothers.
The Hilton Long Beach fired five housekeepers after three of them complained to the human resources director about never having a set schedule, being threatened by managers and feeling disrespected. They have filed retaliation charges with the government. The same housekeepers had also been participating in a state investigation of the underground economy. They were paid under the table without a legal paycheck.
A human resources manager told the LA Times the women were employed by an “outside agency.” But even so, they were hired, supervised and fired by Hilton managers. They wore the same uniform and did the same work as Hilton housekeepers. The only real difference was that they were paid less, had no benefits, vacation or sick days.
Hilton’s refusal to take responsibility for its workers is sad but hardly surprising. Subcontracted housekeepers are modern braceros — cheap labor that is often invisible. So long as no one notices, the company can squeeze a little extra profit out of an already exploited workforce.
But like the female grape pickers of my day, the housekeepers forced us to notice. Veronica Flores, a single mother with three kids, had everything to lose by standing up to the Hilton. But she did it because she is a truly Amazing Woman.
Women who still work at the hotel are fighting too. For three years they have been fighting for a fair process to decide whether to form a union and urging a boycott of their own hotel. Maria Patlan, a 13-year Hilton housekeeper, raises two daughters and a grandson on her $11.30 an hour. Despite working one of the most dangerous jobs in the service sector, she doesn’t have healthcare through her job because it’s too expensive.
At age 67, Dolores Navarro is approaching retirement. She has suffered many injuries from the backbreaking work. But she won’t surrender until her co-workers find justice.
It’s a mistake to hold an event that honors some women at a hotel that exploits and abuses others. Many in the community are aware of the problems at the Hilton, and have rallied to support the workers. It’s time for the Press-Telegram to do the same. Honor these Amazing Women by moving the awards to another venue.
On September 15 Huerta was the keynote speaker at a protest event in front of the Hilton occurring simultaneously with the Amazing Women Awards.