Hyatt Workers and supporters to construct “Women’s Solidarity Quilt” at Hyatt Regency Santa Clara

[Santa Clara, CA] On October 12, women and community members from across Silicon Valley will speak out against Hyatt’s disrespect of women and their bodies in a protest at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara. The action, which marks the one year anniversary of Hyatt’s firing of Martha and Lorena Reyes, will feature a “Women’s Solidarity Quilt” bearing messages of support for the two sisters and stories of the struggles women face at work. Quilts, a traditionally female art form, have long represented women’s role as the social backbone of our communities and their solidarity for one another.

On November 18, 2011, Martha and Lorena Reyes each filed a retaliation charge against the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara with the federal agency, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). Their cases are still under investigation at the EEOC. The housekeepers were among many Hyatt employees whose faces were pasted atop bikini-clad images on the company’s bulletin board. Humiliated, Martha Reyes tore down the photographs of herself and her sister. About a month later, Hyatt Regency Santa Clara fired both sisters.

Women workers of Hyatt Hotels struggle daily with an employer that injures their bodies, disrespects their rights as mothers, and treats workers as if they are disposable. Hyatt’s mistreatment of women workers has drawn broad support for the global boycott of Hyatt, including pledges to boycott Hyatt by feminist icon Gloria Steinem, the National Organization of Women (NOW), and the Feminist Majority Foundation.

What: An action on the One Year Anniversary of Hyatt firing Martha and Lorena Reyes protesting Hyatt’s mistreatment of women workers.

Who: Hyatt hotel workers, community supporters including the Interfaith Council on Economic and Social Justice

Visuals: Women creating and displaying a “Women’s Rights Quilt” with personal messages of support and slogans

Where and When: Santa Clara

4:30PM-6:00PM, Friday, October 10, 2012

Hyatt Regency, 5101 Great America Parkway