3-31-09, 10:02 am

CONCORD, CA - 25MARCH09 – Workers and supporters at the Holiday Inn in Concord, CA, demonstrate and march outside the hotel.

Their union, UNITE HERE Local 2850, has been trying to negotiate a new contract for a year with new owner Kevin Akash, who is demanding that workers increase their payments for health insurance from $40 to $700 per month.

The average wage for a roomcleaner at the hotel is $9.35 per hour, or about $1590 per month, before taxes. A month ago workers voted to reject the company demand. They are now calling for a boycott of the hotel.

Religious leaders hand roses to workers to encourage them while they demonstrate and march. Concord Mayor Laura Hoffmeister is one of many public officials and union leaders who sign a pledge to boycott the Holiday Inn to support hotel workers.




--David Bacon is the author of Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants and Communities Without Borders.