After three years of striking outside of the Congress Hotel, members of UNITE HERE Local 1 finally declared the hotel dead and held a funeral-themed rally outside of the hotel. 

Hundreds of supporters gathered with black balloons, a black coffin and a funeral band outside of the hotel, now well-known throughout Chicago for its anti-union practices and a familiar site of labor rallies.

The union, representing 14,000 members who work in the hospitality industry, estimates the Congress could have generated at least an additional $70 million in revenues if it had been operating at average downtown occupancy and room rate levels over the duration of the strike.  But the owner has refused to come to the table with even a decent contract.

            “The strike against the Congress is alive and well, but the Congress Hotel is dead!” said Henry Tamarin, UNITE HERE Local 1 President and Chicago Federation of Labor Executive Board member on the three-year anniversary of the strike.  “It is stinking up the town like a festering corpse.  Let’s bury it!”

            During those three years, the workers on strike have received tremendous support from not only their union, but the entire labor community as well.  Members of various unions from across the city joined the rally in a showing of solidarity.

            Dennis Gannon, President of the Chicago Federation of Labor, reminded the workers that they are not alone in this fight.  “We will continue to stand side by side with you for as long as it takes!” said Gannon.

            Leaders of Chicago’s hospitality industry agree that the Congress undermines the industry standard and is an embarrassment to the city.  Marc Gordon, President of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association, has testified at City Hall that the Congress “has long been plagued by a lack of proper maintenance, cleanliness, and service.”

            Hundreds of customers have complained about poor service and unsafe and unsanitary conditions since workers walked off the job in June 2003.  Many Congress customers also have reported that the hotel never informed them of the strike, noting they would not have stayed there if they knew about the dispute.

            Industry leaders have done nothing to solve the three-year old strike, the longest running strike in Chicago.  The city’s inaction has not deterred the heroic strikers, however.  “We’ll keep on fighting until we win a fair contract, or until someone buries this hotel,” said Congress striker Efrain Cortina.

            For more information about the Congress Hotel Strike, visit www.CongressHotelStrike.info.