Hotel workers at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Seattle Downtown Pioneer Square are preparing to hold a strike vote on Friday, just weeks before the city hosts World Cup games.
Members of UNITE HERE Local 8, a union representing hospitality workers in Oregon and Washington, said the hotel is offering raises of less than $1 per year, while rejecting proposals for healthcare coverage, ICE notification protections, and adequate staffing. The hotel employees proposed for management to notify employees when agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were on the property. Management rejected this request.
“As a brown woman, I know ICE does not care whether you are a U.S. citizen,” Dom Kaur, a front desk agent, said. “What they are doing goes against my core moral beliefs. My dad needed asylum and, as a lawyer, now helps others. It is wrong for our bosses to sit there and say they cannot do anything about it.”…