Hyatt protests point to renewed intersection between religion, unions
By Julie Wernau, Chicago Tribune
November 20, 2010
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-1121-religious-unions-20101120,0,3502147.story

When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, he wasn't
just making history, he was organizing a labor
movement, said the Rev. Lillian Daniel.

"It was the very first strike, and they won," the Glen
Ellyn pastor boomed during an interfaith prayer service
of union members held outside the Hyatt Regency
Chicago.

Hyatt's owners, locked in contract negotiations with
Unite Here Local 1, increasingly are being criticized
by religious leaders siding with the hotel workers.
Such protests illustrate the labor movement's
increasing propensity to team picket signs with prayer
shawls.

In September 2009, two dozen religious leaders joined
the local chapter of the American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees in a 36-hour vigil in
solidarity with employees at Resurrection Health Care,
the largest Catholic health care system in Chicago. In
June of this year, a delegation of more than 100
religious leaders stormed Hyatt's first shareholders
meeting, singing a psalm.

The movement is larger than Chicago. This year more
than 70 religious leaders joined with union leaders
from the American Federation of Teachers to mobilize on
several fronts, from immigration reform to civic
engagement, as part of a task force called Faith in
Action.

For the full story see:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-1121-religious-unions-20101120,0,3502147.story

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