MA Hyatt boycott

sent:

Boston Globe’s Governor Threatens a Hyatt Boycott

reasoning:

for people who think the labor movement is dead, or unions are no longer necessary – blatant workplace violations like this are still happening.  3 Hyatt hotels in the Boston area laid off their entire housekeeping staff, citing challenging economic conditions, and replaced them with workers from an out-of-state firm they would pay much less and provide no benefits for. Originally, the staff trained the new workers under the pretense the new staff were only there to fill in on vacations and holidays. But after the morning shift on August 31, the workers were told not to come back to work the next day. it seems government officials rarely get involved in labor disputes, unless the industry affected directly relates to the operation of the country (ex: Reagan laid off the air-traffic controllers), the fight usually remains between the workers, the union and the company. But Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has stepped in, strongly denouncing the layoffs and threatening a boycott of the Hyatt Hotels by Massachusetts employees.

the Back & Forth

“I understand first-hand how difficult it is to manage through the current economic challenges without compounding the disruptions the times have caused,’’ Patrick wrote. “But surely there is some way to retain the jobs for your housekeeping staffs, as other hotels have done, and to work with them to help the company meet its current challenges, rather than tossing them out unceremoniously to fend for themselves while the people they trained take their jobs at barely livable wages.’’ – Governor Deval Patrick

The action “directly threatens the 600 associates who work in Hyatt properties and who live and work in Massachusetts at a time when businesses and individuals are cutting back on travel during the worst economic period we have seen in decades. We do not understand why the governor is putting more Massachusetts jobs at risk instead of working with us to find jobs for employees affected by the realities of these unprecedented economic challenges.’’ – Phil Stamm, general manager of Hyatt Regency Boston

The fight is still going-  last update I could find, lists the boycott growing with support from taxicab drivers, politicians, businesses leaders, and organizations, like the National Employment Lawyers Associations originally set to hold a conference at a Hyatt, canceling reservations.

blogs falling in an empty forest

sent:

NYTimes: When The Thrill of Blogging is Gone…

reasoning:

 oh how i can relate to this article. when i first started this blog, i did do it out of a small wish for fame and notoriety, not so much that people would be logging on to read about the party i went to last night, or the amazing cardamon bread pudding i made over the weekend, but i had hoped the idea behind this blog would catch on. people would start using the “no postage necessary” envelopes to send in poetry, love letters, or intellectual articles to the credit card application collection centers. soon, i’d have to created another blog to just post the responses and reasonings, something more along the lines of PostSecret with substance and commentary on social disconnect and loneliness, rather than just community picture submissions like upsidedowndogs  or look at this fucking hipster (as entertaining as it is to scan through that site every now and then). i want commenters, i want more people saying “hey, cool post”, or sending me emails about paper goods they’ve sent in to the collection centers and why.

but also, i know of the ease to start something and not complete it: diets, workout routines, fictional novellas, etc. blogging really could just be the internet fad of the 21st century, and the thought of all the abandoned blogs out there pains me to think of all the WWW space they’re uselessly and inefficiently taking up. [certainly not to say, nopostagerequired is contributing to the greater good and worth however much GB it’s using). plus, i’m reminded that i’ve got to go and delete that embarassing, old LiveJournal I wrote back in high school. another reason i started this blog was the hope that it’d encourage me to write more. if i was writing, however informally, on a consistent basis> that can only help me practice and perhaps make all the papers in graduate school much easier to complete. but alas, i’ve fallen too often into the “sorry, i haven’t posted here in awhile” trap, and sometimes this blog becomes a nagging chore that’s always in the back of my mind to work on, much in the same way of starting art projects, that Census Bureau application, or that morning workout. i will write here that I am attempting to write here at least 4 times a week until it becomes routine. it’s taken me more than a year, but i’ve at least gotten to 100+ posts, it’s somewhat reassuring that nopostagerequired won’t be listed on One Post Wonder, i’ve jsut to be more diligent in keeping it up. onward >

How to Create a Calder Mobile

sent:

WikiHow’s How to Create a Calder Mobile

reasoning:

guess which is the joint effort attempt of DF and me at a mobile, and which one is the calder.

where did we go wrong?

• we failed to make it viewable from all sides -> probably the very first rule of mobiles

• the painting of a bird that turned into an abstract peacock/upside-down rainbow, along with the happy meal hello kitty watch dangling below it pale in complexity, and stability to the calder standard

i need a couple more visits to the Hirshhorn for further inspiration, but the more i look at our ‘work of art’, the more i see the potential to add more on to it and make it a more LEGIT mobile.  hopefully this creative crafting itch is here to stay, i need something new to keep me occupied.

2009 Triangle Fire Commemoration

recipient:

Old Lyme Gourmet company/ PO Box 375/ Old Lyme, CT 06371

sent:

UNITE HERE!’s 2009 Triangle Fire Commemoration

reasoning:

Friday, March 27, 2009 at 12PM

Corner of Washington Place & Greene Street, NYC

- East of Washington Square Park

For more information about the commemoration, please contact Ed
Vargas at evargas@unitehere.org or 212-265-7000

not entirely sure how this commemoration is going to go, i think it’ll be more of a rally/remembrance of the workers who died in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in 1911 and all the other American workers who have lost their lives due to dangerous and unsafe workplaces since. in UNITE HERE!’s email, they include a link to this youtube video of Cintas worker Eleazar Torres-Gomez who was killed on the job because his non-union workplace lacked proper safety precautions.  certainly accidents happen, but some accidents can also be avoided. its tragic these incidents still occur in the US, even with all the regulations, OSHA, and work of the labor movement. certainly if you are in the military, or part of a security force like the police or firefighters – your life and the possibility of dying is part of the job description. do i really need to preface any of my writings as being idealistic, anymore? i just think we’ve gotten along far enough that you shouldn’t be concerned for your life when you go to work.