CHicago's Magnificent Mile shine babbar alamar gata da iko na birnin. Ta nufi kudu akan titin Michigan, ta wuce ta manyan kantunan zamani, gidajen cin abinci masu kyau, da manyan gine-gine. ’Yan kaxan da suka wuce filin shakatawa na Millenium, duk da haka, mutum ya ci karo da wani wasan da ka yi kamar ba a wurinsa a cikin wadatar hanyar: ma’aikata masu zaɓe a otal ɗin Congress (Plaza), waɗanda suka ga bikin cika shekaru shida na yajin aikin mafi dadewa a Amurka a ranar 14 ga Yuni. .
Labarin su ya fara ne a cikin 2002 lokacin da membobin gidan cin abinci, wasan kwaikwayo, da ƙungiyar otal UNITE HERE Local 1-kusan ma'aikata 7,000-sun fuskanci tattaunawar kwangila tare da Ƙungiyar Ma'aikatan Ma'aikata ta Hotel (HELRA). Membobin kungiyar, sun gaji da albashin sa'a daya kasa da dala 9 a kowace sa'a kuma kusan babu fa'ida, sun shirya yin wasan kwallon kafa. Amma otal ɗin ba za su yarda da bukatun ma'aikata ba. Bayan sun shiga yajin aikin da zai gurgunta masana'antar otal-otal na birnin - yana bukatar tsohon Gwamna George Ryan ya kira taron tattaunawa na gaggawa - ma'aikata da masu daukar ma'aikata sun daidaita kan karin albashi da albashi na kashi 57 cikin shekaru 4 masu zuwa. Babu shakka, ƙungiyar ta yi nasara.
Bayan shekara guda, membobin Local 1 a Congress Hotel sun zauna don tattaunawa iri ɗaya. Otal din nasu ya fice daga HELRA shekaru da suka gabata, wanda hakan ya sa ma’aikatansu ba su da karin albashin sauran ma’aikatan otal din da suka yi nasara a shekarar da ta gabata. Tsammanin karuwar albashinsu na sa'o'i $8.83 kwatankwacin ma'aikatan HELRA, ma'aikatan Otal din Congress sun yi mamakin jin " tayin karshe" na gudanarwa shine raguwar kashi 7 cikin dari da kuma kusan kawar da fa'ida da fansho. Ba tare da amincewa da irin wannan shawara ba, musamman a lokacin da ma'aikatan otal ke tashi a cikin gari, ma'aikatan majalisar sun kada kuri'a 114-1 don yajin aikin.
Guadalupe Perez, dan wasan gaba kuma tsohon ma'aikacin liyafa, "bai yi tunanin za mu yi waje da yawa ba; 'yan kwanaki, mako guda." Shekaru shida bayan haka, otal ɗin bai tuntuɓar masu yajin tare da tayi mai kyau ba, don haka suna ci gaba da layin yau da kullun a gaban otal ɗin.
2008 zanga-zangar / zaɓe a otal ɗin Congress na Chicago-Hoton Samuel A. Love |
Jessica Lawlor ita ce mai gudanar da kauracewa kuma manazarcin bincike don UNITE NAN. Ta ce kungiyar na son sasanta rikicin, amma “masu mallakin ba su bayar da ko sisin kwabo kan albashin 2002 ba a duk yajin aikin,” in ji ta. "Ba za mu sasanta da irin wannan karancin albashi ba yayin da babu sauran ma'aikatan otal a cikin birni da ke samun karancin albashi."
Mai otal din, Albert Nasser, hamshakin attajiri ne kuma hamshakin attajiri wanda ke zaune a birnin New York da Geneva na kasar Switzerland. Nasser ya ki amincewa da takaddamar kuma wakilansa sun ci gaba da cewa albarkatun ba su nan don biyan ma'aikatanta ma'auni na masana'antu, yanzu fiye da $ 14 a kowace awa a Chicago tare da fa'ida. Amma, kamar yadda masu yajin aiki da ma’aikatan kungiyar suka nuna, a shekara ta 2008, otal din ya nemi izinin gina gidan cin abinci a gefen titi da kuma wurin tafki, na karshen yana dauke da farashin dala miliyan 2.5. "Ta yaya zai ce ba shi da kudin da zai biya mu idan muka ga yana gyara otal?" Perez ya nema. "Yana son yin jarin sama da dala miliyan biyu, amma ba zai iya biyan mu albashi mai tsoka ba?"
Da yake ambaton irin wannan munafunci, Local 1 ya shawo kan birnin ya musanta buƙatun otal ɗin. Tsawon watanni uku a farkon shekara ta 2009, masu yajin aikin sun shirya "Tawagar masu tashi sama" da ke yawo a ko'ina cikin birnin - suna fuskantar 'yan kasuwa da kungiyoyi na Chicago wadanda suka ci gaba da kula da otal din a ofisoshinsu - ba sa son karbar "Yi hakuri, amma..." don amsa. A kokarin da suke yi, masu yajin aikin sun kashe miliyoyin kudi a otal din ta hanyar shawo kan daidaikun mutane da kungiyoyi su soke shirin. Lawler ya buga misali da Ƙungiyar Housewares, wanda kwanan nan ya kulla kwangilar shekaru uku na dala 450,000 bayan ya fuskanci matsin lamba.
Kwanan nan, kungiyar ta samu goyon bayan kusan kowane dan majalisar birni, da dama daga cikin wakilan majalisar dokokin jihar, gwamnan jihar Illinois, Pat Quinn, har ma ta ga ziyarce-ziyarcen layi guda biyu da Sanata Obama na lokacin, wanda ya yi alkawarin komawa a matsayin shugaban kasa. Yayin da tallafi ke karuwa daga waɗanda ke kan madafan iko - kuma masu yajin aikin sun kasance masu jajircewa kamar koyaushe - yana da wuya a ga komai sai nasara a nan gaba na ma'aikata.
Oda yammacin Larabar da ta gabata a watan Mayu, masu yajin aikin na tafiya kan layi lokacin da wasu motoci masu kyalli masu kyalli suka taso zuwa kofar otal din. Sanye da tufafin kasuwanci, masu halartar taron shekara-shekara na Ƙungiyar Abinci ta Ƙasa-masu mallaka da masu aiki, waɗanda da yawa daga cikinsu ba su da shakku tare da UNITE HERE a gidajen cin abinci nasu a baya-sun shirya don ketare layin. Daya daga cikin mahalarta taron ya sauke kayansa, ya matsa daf da motar don gudun kada ma’aikata da alamun su, sannan ya yi ba’a, ya ce, “Ya kamata ka gode ma kana da aikin yi, sauran mutanen ba su yi sa’a ba.
"Shame on you," mahara da yawa sun yi ihu yayin da mutumin ya kutsa kai cikin kofofin otal din ba tare da waiwaya ba.
Perez ta bayyana yadda take ji akan kalaman mutumin. "Ba ya aiki a otal don biyan mafi ƙarancin albashi," in ji ta. "Yana da isassun kudin da zai zauna a nan, baya shan wahala kamar mu." Cornelio Rosado, tsohon ma'aikacin liyafa a otal, ya yarda. "Ba ya tambayar dalilin da ya sa muke yajin aiki, ba zai zo aiki a nan ya tsira da albashin Majalisa ba."
Rosado da Perez, kamar sauran 'yan wasan gaba, dukkansu suna aiki na cikakken lokaci ban da sanya sa'o'i 25 a mako a cikin yajin aikin. Sa'o'i suna ɗaukar nauyi sosai. "Ni mahaifiya ce mai yara hudu," in ji Perez. "Dole ne in raba lokacina tsakanin gidana, da sauran aiki na, da kuma zuwan majalisa don tafiya a layi."
Rosado yana fuskantar irin waɗannan matsalolin. "Abu ne mai wahala. Ina da iyali da yara, wani lokacin nakan bata musu rai saboda na zo yajin aikin. Amma muna bukatar mu nuna wa mutane cewa dole ne ku yi gwagwarmayar kwato muku hakkinku."
Perez ya dage cewa ma'aikatan za su yi nasara a gwagwarmayar su. "Wannan otal din ya tabka cin zarafi da dama, amma su kanana ne kuma masu zaman kansu ne, idan suka ci nasara, manyan otal-otal na kamfanoni za su kara cin zarafin ma'aikatansu."
Ta juya ta nufi wajen tsohon mai aikinta da ke bayanta. "Ba za mu rasa shekaru shida na rayuwarmu ba, za mu kasance a nan na wani shekara da wata shekara da wata shekara kuma za mu dage har sai mun yi nasara."