Last year, thousands of Marriott workers represented by UNITE HERE went on strike because “One Job Should Be Enough.” (Workers at Marriott’s Westin Hotel in Seattle avoided a strike by securing a groundbreaking new contract.) Thanks to support from the community and other unions, Marriott workers across the nation won historic, life-changing gains in wages, benefits, and working conditions.

Now UNITE HERE needs the solidarity of the labor movement once again in the next phase of the Marriott campaign.

Marriott’s “Green Choice” program offers guests modest points or incentives to forgo daily housekeeping service for which they have already paid. The program has a devastating impact on housekeepers. In addition to cutting hours, housekeepers report pain, injury, and difficulty cleaning dirtier rooms that are left un-serviced for days. These rooms take longer and require more chemicals to clean. The program is unsustainable for hotel workers, and a cynical guise for cutting labor costs.

There are no environmental studies that recommend skipping housekeeping. That’s why climate leaders like Sierra Club, 350.org, and the Union of Concerned Scientists reject Marriott’s program.

UNITE HERE is asking its labor friends and community allies to:

Sign the pledge — Refuse Green Choice and call for a sustainability program that does not hurt women workers by signing UNITE HERE’s pledge as an individual or on behalf of your union.

Reject “Green Choice” at your events — If your union or organization holds meetings at Marriott properties, refuse “Green Choice” on behalf of your attendees. Insist that Marriott not offer the program to your individual attendees at the front desk, in the hotel rooms, or in any other location. See suggested language to “refuse Green Choice” in your event contracts with Marriott.

Contact your individual members — Urge them to sign the pledge and to refuse Green Choice when booking work or non-work travel. Click here for sample emails to members.

Send a letter to Marriott — on behalf of your federated body letting them know you support workers and will decline the Green Choice program on behalf of all your attendees at any of your future conventions. See a sample letter.

Thank you for supporting Marriott hotel housekeepers, UNITE HERE, and real sustainability programs.

Link to the article in The Stand - https://www.thestand.org/2020/02/reject-marriotts-green-choice-program/