The event marked the one year anniversary of UNITE HERE Local 7's ongoing boycott of the Sheraton. After hearing speeches from union co-president John Wilhelm, mid-Alantic organizing director Roxie Herbekian, head of the Baltimore AFL-CIO Ernie Grecco, and hotel workers from as far away as Anchorage and Las Vegas, the group marched to the Sheraton chanting "We're fired up and ready to go!" and "Don't check in, check out!" They began marching in an exuberant picket line that stretched all the way around the hotel, surrounding it completely. Union activists even set up a light that projected the word "BOYCOTT!" onto the side of the building next to its logo. The picket lasted for about 2 hours, before the group rallied once more in front of the hotel for another round of speeches from workers. The picketers chanted "We'll be back!" as they left, resolving to keep up the fight for justice and a decent contract.

Last year, 86% of the workers at the Sheraton voted to boycott their own hotel. Since then, over $2.2 million has been pulled out by customers who honored their demand that no one eat, sleep, or meet there until the company agrees to negotiate. This Sheraton is owned by a company called Columbia-Sussex, who bought it two years ago the same time their contract expired, and has refused to negotiate a new contract with the union. They have cut benefits, raised the cost of the workers' health insurance to four times what it was before, and recently fired outspoken union supporters, who are now fighting to get their jobs back. Bill Yung, the president of Columbia-Sussex, publicly declared that he would never negotiate with a union, but went back on his word this summer when he settled with UNITE HERE in Philadelphia. He's facing boycotts and other labor disputes in Northern Virginia, Anchorage, and many other cities where workers are standing up for their rights. These various fighs are all part of UNITE HERE's national Hotel Workers Rising campaign, which is dedicated to "sending this message to the hotel industry: We are determined to make our jobs safer, middle-class jobs on which we can support our families." As the picketers declared on the 18th, they are determined to last out this struggle "one day longer" than their bosses. According to housekeeper Darlene Harrison, "We're gonna pull through this and we're gonna win!"

For more photos, go to:
www.flickr.com/photos/isisdc/sets/72157609403265715/show/

A video of the rally can be found at:
www.youtube.com/watch