Over 50 People Commit to 40 Hour Fast Supporting Hotel Workers on Tuesday Evening

Tuesday evening, March 4th, over 75 people attended the Kickoff to the 13th Annual 40 Hour Fast in support of the struggles of our over 600 hotel workers in Tompkins County at the Women’s Community Building. In addition, over 50 people committed to fasting for the 40 hours that ends on Thursday, the 6th, at 12 noon.

The program will include reflections from a number of hotel workers, as well as political, labor, religious, and education leaders on issues relating to our Justice for Hotel Workers campaign, such as:

* poverty wages, and its affect on our families and community

* disrespectful treatment from management

* lack of a reasonable ‘right to organize’ on behalf of workers and the ability to take joint action to improve workplace conditions

* lack of health insurance

* unreasonable physical workload and working with dangerous chemicals

The Workers’ Center is continuing to organize workers in the Ithaca hotel industry for better working conditions and wages. Says Workers’ Center hotel organizer, Neisha Butler, “paying these workers $7.15 an hour, as these hotels do, and not providing affordable health insurance, is disrespectful of the important work these people do for the hotels, unfair to the workers’ families, and irresponsible in a community that values all our citizens equally.”

This event will also serve as the kick-off for local participation in the New York State Labor-Religion Coalition’s 13th Annual 40 Hour FAST (more information on the fast can be found at http://www.labor-religion.org) which lasts from March 4th, at 8 PM until March 6th, at Noon.

Workers in Tompkins County are hungering for living wage jobs. Going without food for one or more meals during the FAST is an expression of solidarity with them and their cause. If you are considering ‘fasting’ with us, please let us know by contacting one of the contacts below, or by responding to this email.

The Religious Task Force for a Living Wage is a joint project of the Tompkins County Workers’ Center and Catholic Charities of Tompkins County. For more information, please contact 607-269-0409 or 607-272-5062, ext. 12. Or email TCWRC@yahoo.com