City Council Passes Two Resolutions on Cambridge Labor

After listening to over an hour and a half of public comment, the Cambridge City Council passed two labor-related policy orders—one regulating the employment of housekeepers at local hotels and another requesting a cease in labor-related cuts at MIT and Harvard—at its meeting last night.

Workers from Unite Here! Local 26—the Boston area hospitality union—as well as representatives from other local hotels and businesses spoke in support of and against a resolution that would prohibit hotels in Cambridge from subcontracting housekeeping services. The resolution was passed unanimously.

Tsering Dolker, a housekeeper who has worked at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge for 17 years, said in an interview that the passing of this resolution marks the beginnings of a respectful relationship between bosses and their employees.

Denise A. Jillson, executive director for the Harvard Square Business Association, was among the few who spoke against the resolution. She suggested that the Council reconsider the order, which she said should have been directed solely at the Hyatt.

“It seems unfair to pass an order that could have detrimental effects on the rest of the hotels [in the city],” Jillson said.

Neal J. Meyer ’11, who attended the meeting on behalf of the Harvard Student Labor Action Movement, said the city should ensure reliable accommodations for parents visiting their students.

“It’s our hope that this resolution will create safe and accountable hotels—hotels that operate under a strong, direct employer-employee partnership and create an hospitable environment for guests, workers, and management,” said Meyer, who is also a Crimson photography editor.

In addition to the hotel labor order, the Council also passed a resolution to request that Harvard and MIT cease any further layoffs and cuts in hours, salary, or benefits.

Councillor Marjorie C. Decker, who pushed for the passage of both these resolutions, said during the meeting that while the City Council is pro-business, in order to be pro-business, they have to be pro-worker first.

“Good businesses understand that they are in partnerships with their workers,” Decker said in an interview after the resolutions passed.

—Staff writer Xi Yu can be reached at xyu@college.harvard.edu.