By PAUL LAVERACK
POLITICAL MUSCLE

John Wilhelm is the International President of Unite Here, the hospitality workers’ union which has 300,000 members in North America. Interviewed here outside the Hyatt Andaz luxury hotel in West Hollywood, CA on July 21, 2011, Wilhelm discusses Hyatt’s dismal record of workplace safety, the difficult conditions under which the housekeepers struggle every day, as well as what the union would like to see in terms of legislation regarding the use of fitted sheets and long-handled mops. Wilhelm draws a parallel between the farmworker struggles of the 1960s and the hotel housekeepers of today.

Tags:  afl afl-cio capitalism corporate greed housekeepers hyatt hyatt andaz john wilhelm labor local 11 protest rally union unite here workers