Progress Illinois

Yesterday marked a solemn milestone for the service workers at the Congress Hotel in downtown Chicago. For six years, four months, and 11 days, UNITE-HERE Local 1 members have walked their picket line in hopes of securing fair wages and benefits, marking the longest hotel strike in the nation's history. But apart from the Congress dispute, the specter of more work stoppages is hanging over the union and the 6,000 Chicago workers it represents across the city.

The three-year contract covering UNITE-HERE Local 1 workers at 30 downtown hotels expired on August 31. In the seven weeks since, despite intense pressure from the labor community and its advocates, union negotiators told the Tribune that little progress has been made. "Things have gotten really bad," said Annemarie Strassel, spokesperson for Local 1. "I think that employers see the bad economy as an opportunity to ram through proposals."

Yesterday afternoon, members of Local 1 marched up and down Michigan Avenue, stopping at the Congress, the Hilton, the Blackstone (where the local and the roughly 200 workers it represents have been negotiating a contract for months) to demand that the city's workers are treated fairly.

The crux of the dispute centers on health benefits and overtime. Hyatt -- one of the city's three biggest chains, a publicly-traded company, and a market trendsetter -- is asking that employees work 120 hours a month in order to qualify for health insurance. But because of the way employee hours are scheduled, the union says the move would disqualify almost half of their workers from coverage. Meanwhile, shrinking industry profits in 2008 have prompted hotels across Chicagoland to simultaneously trim their workforces while increasing overtime for those still employed. (Watch veteran Hyatt employee Francine Jones talk about the stress these extra hours are putting on her and her family here.)

Due to the stalled talks, workers at five hotels will take a drastic step today and vote on whether to authorize a strike. The results will be released following a vote count Wednesday night. We'll be sure to provide an update when the tally becomes available.