On Labor Day 147 arrested in San Francisco

By Lucille Whitney

SAN FRANCISCO - In the biggest action to date by the San Francisco Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) Local 2, 147 hotel workers and supporters were arrested on Labor Day.

The protesters blocked traffic at the main cable car line on Powell Street in front of the St. Francis Hotel, flanked on both sides of the street by 1,000 demonstrators, all chanting "Contract Now!"

The 8,000 Local 2 members have been working without a contract since Aug. 14, when their five-year pact with 50 San Francisco hotels and motels expired.

"We didn't spend our Labor Day at picnics," Local 2 President Mike Casey said.

"This was the biggest arrest action in the country and we planned it to show management that we're on a collision course. We've been without a contract for three weeks and negotiations are going way too slow."

Four main points are the focus of negotiations: Health and welfare benefits, wages, job security and work reduction.

The union wants to raise the $12-an-hour wage to $13.50. Room cleaners are so overworked they can't finish their work in a shift and many are suffering injuries as a result of speedup.

The union is pressuring the Multi-employer Group, which represents some of San Francisco's largest hotels.

"After we get a contract with them, we'll use that to secure similar agreements with the remaining 39 hotels," Casey said.

Also on Labor Day, in Palo Alto about 40 hospital workers were arrested as they protested a lack of contract at Lucille Salter Packard Children's Hospital.

They were joined by 250 demonstrators, who marched from the hospital to the main highway, where they blocked traffic.

In San Jose, arrests followed a protest at the Stanford Health Care Hospital

The Alameda County Labor Council gathered 1,000 unionists, friends and family at the Oakland Coliseum for its annual Labor Day picnic. Gov. Gray Davis and Sen. Barbara Boxer appeared.

Rep. Barbara Lee, successor to Ronald Dellums, called for a halt to tax cuts and for using federal funds for health, education, housing and other social needs.