On Wednesday, July 31st, our organizing committee sent a letter to our general manager, Aimbridge Hospitality, and Douglas Development declaring our intent to organize a union. The intent of the letter was not to announce our issues. Those we will be happy to discuss at the bargaining table. The intent was to make a simple ask of the powers involved in the management of our building. In this letter, we called on Steve, Douglas, and Aimbridge to respect our right as workers to organize.
Included in this letter are the “Fair Election Principles,” a voluntary code of conduct that we asked Steve, Douglas, and Aimbridge to adhere to. The Fair Election Principles outline a fair process by which we, the workers, might be allowed to choose whether or not we want a union. We asked that they follow these principles, so that their employees could make this choice free from the intimidation, confusion, and coercion that is all too commonplace.
As of the date of this post, they have yet to respond to our letter or to this request. Instead, they have started holding meetings with our coworkers trying to intimidate them out of supporting the union or signing a card.
We know firsthand that choosing to support a union in your workplace can be difficult: standing up for yourself and your coworkers is a courageous thing to do. And it is made all the more courageous when your employer chooses to hold meetings to scare you and your coworkers out of it – to make it as difficult as possible for you to exercise what is your civil right.
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