Hotel Northampton workers seek to unionize, dozens demonstrate support at rally Tuesday night

NORTHAMPTON — More than two-thirds of the workers at Hotel Northampton want to unionize — and on Tuesday night they marched through downtown to deliver that message to hotel management.

The hotel workers, including servers, cooks, housekeepers and maintenance staff, have been organizing over the last year with the help of the New England Joint Board, Unite Here. On Tuesday, over 50 workers, city councilors, union representatives, labor advocates and members of the public gathered outside James House on Masonic Street before walking to the hotel to demand that management recognize the union representation that a supermajority of its workers want.

As they arrived at the 36 King St. hotel, banquet server and supervisor Jonathan Leighton ascended the stairs followed by several co-workers, union representatives and City Councilors William H. Dwight, Maureen T. Carney and Ryan R. O’Donnell.

On hand was a “photo petition” featuring snapshots of over three dozen employees and text explaining that they are organizing themselves. “We are the hotel, We are Northampton. We are united for respect,” it read.

But the front desk manager told Leighton that owner Mansour Ghalibaf would not come out of his office to accept the petition. The manager also refused Dwight’s request that he deliver to Ghalibaf a copy of a 2012 City Council resolution affirming workers’ right to organize.

The manager then asked the group to leave.

“They’re not willing to recognize our partnership at this point, so we’ll continue to fight for it,” Leighton told a reporter outside the hotel.

But recognition will likely come, regardless of the cooperation of hotel management.

Since the majority of workers have signed cards signaling that they’d like to be part of a union, the National Labor Relations Board will conduct a binding election within the next few weeks, said Emma G. Ross, New England Joint Board vice president and staff director.

“They can’t hide from it tomorrow morning when it gets sent by the federal government,” Ross told the group gathered outside.

Should a majority of the 66 hotel workers continue their support of unionization at that election, the New England Joint Board will go on to represent them.

Impetus to organize

For Leighton, who has worked at Hotel Northampton for 14 years, the drive to seek collective representation came about a year ago after a manger who “cared for” him and his co-workers left the hotel. As time went on, he said the work environment got worse.

“It was just apparent that the job was not one that was healthy for someone,” he said.

Maria Lala, of Northampton, said things in her department are also difficult.

She started as a housekeeper at the hotel 12 years ago. But management recently increased her responsibilities to include laundry duty — a job that was previously performed by a dedicated worker.

Her pay did not go up when she took on the extra work and she got her first raise in three years about 10 months ago, she said.

“I’m here because I support my entire family and I cannot do things this way,” she said through translator Sebastian Caicedo of Unite Here. “If we don’t get better wages we’re not going to be able to provide for our kids for them to have a better life.”

Jose Montalvo, 33, of Westfield said he has also taken on extra duties in his work in the kitchen. He started working at the salad station five years ago, but he’s now also expected to work at banquets and wash dishes.

“He’s doing the job of basically three people,” Caicedo said, translating Montalvo’s answer to a question. “If he’s going to get paid for one job he just wants to do that job, not multiple jobs.”

Montalvo also said he’s been told by his manager that he’s at his wage “limit.”

Montalvo’s kitchen co-worker Ricky Camacho said he has also missed out on raises while his responsibilities have increased. He said he is manning several kitchen stations at any given time, while also being expected to fetch kitchen supplies or bring food around the hotel. He said his annual evaluation, which presents the chance for a raise, has been skipped over two years in a row.

“It’s a three-person job and they’ve only got one person doing it,” said Camacho, 47, of Amherst. “I like to work. I just want better treatment.”

Server Gretchen Ravenhurst, 24, of Hatfield said her outlook on labor is inspired by Henry Ford’s $5-a-day wages. Ford famously paid his factory workers enough so they could afford to buy one of his Model Ts.

“At the hotel, workers are paid poverty wages,” she said. “I want the people that I work with to be able to afford the services they’re providing.”

She said she and her co-workers are sometimes asked to work 10- or 12-hour shifts due to chronic understaffing. “I have seen the health of my co-workers decline, even in the eight months I’ve been there,” Ravenhurst added.

Before the workers delivered the petition, Dwight told the gathering that they had his support in organizing, which would allow them to “manifest their own destinies.”

A lifelong service worker himself, Dwight said people in those positions “don’t necessarily enjoy a fair amount of influence” over their livelihoods.

“We wish you all the best as you negotiate this,” he told the group.

As the group made its way back to James House after marching to the hotel, Ross said the workers’ right to organize is bolstered by the community members and leaders who stand behind them — and management should recognize that.

“The whole eyes of the city are on them,” she said.

Chris Lindahl can be reached at clindahl@gazettenet.com.

By CHRIS LINDAHL @cmlindahl www.gazettenet.com