Seattle council members consider a new draft to protect hotel workers. Four drafts have been proposed, and the aim is to safeguard hotel employees of Seattle at work and also protect them from any harassment.

The objective of proposing new regulation is also to enhance the working conditions of hotel workers across Seattle. This is only one out of many proposals made by the city leaders for safeguarding hospitality workers.

Victims faced harassment at Work

One of the victims, Lula Haile, works in the hospitality industry, said she was attacked by a guest from behind and surrounded by his arms as she was cleaning his hotel room. The housekeeper mentioned, she informed about the attack incidence to her supervisor and believed the supervisor might ban him from entering the hotel henceforth.

But they told her if in case the guest comes back, we will inform you and you decide whether to work or not to work. Lula Haile says why I should stop doing my work just because this person has arrived back at the hotel?

She was not content with the choice offered to her by her supervisor, stop doing a day’s work for a guest to stay.

The new legislation proposed wants the employees working in a guest room to provide with a panic button, and the hotel should create policies to deal with violent and harassing incidents against the guests’ behavior. The new proposal also says that the hotel should create a list of inappropriate guest behavior and should ban them from providing hotel services.

Lula Haile, a housekeeper, informed people at a city hall press conference that she experienced harassment incident from a guest while she was cleaning the room.

Another housekeeper, Liza Cruz who works at various hotels, says the work is affecting her physical health.

“My shoulder now, every night is worst thing,” Crus told. She wants a better healthcare policy for her and also for her daughter.

City council members suggest plans

The reason for city council members to come up with a new proposal was due to these incidents. So they decided to bring a proposal and include several changes for hotel employees. The proposal includes giving panic buttons; restrict the size, and the number of rooms employees should clean and the amount to be invested in their health care.

Teresa Mosqueda- councilmember briefed,

Hotel workers have higher rates of injury than coal miners and those in building construction trades and hotel workers have three times the amount of back injuries of those of the general population.

City Councilmembers Lorenza Gonzales and Teresa Mosqueda lead several regulations. They have discussed about giving more safety to hotel workers and also to reduce their workload. They also seek the hospitality industry to pay for health insurance policies.

Northgate’s Hotel Nexus owner mentions, subsidies health insurance premium might cost the owner around $800,000 annually, and this might make her hotel to run out of business.

On Thursday, Shaiza Damji informed the Housing, Health, Energy and Workers’ Rights Committee, “This will be the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

The Washington Hospitality Association says they are worried about the health care expense and the proposal to ban guests at the hotel.

Jacque Coe, Communications Manager-

blacklisting without due process is a challenge to the civil rights that all of us hold as individuals.

The public hearing for this new regulation will take place on Tuesday, 2^nd July at 5 pm.