By
Nadin Abbott
Photos Nadin Abbott
April 5, 2013. (San Diego)--Today nine San Diego Workers went on a five day hunger strike. These San Diego Workers, are protesting what Lorena Gonzalez of the Central Labor Council calls "union busting practices."
This is not the first time something like this happens when workers try to organize. Last year over a thousand Janitors attempted to organize in San Diego, and the company they worked for suddenly discovered E-Verify. This is the same at the Hilton in Mission Valley. This is not being done by the hotel to check on the migratory status of workers, but as a tool to suppress the efforts of workers to organize.
In her view E-Verify is used "as a weapon to intimidate workers."
Virginia Martinez, one of the San Diego Nine by Nadin Abbott
One of these striking workers is Virginia Martinez. Martinez told the media gaggle that came for the presser that she had "ten years working in this country. I love this country. With this job I've sent three daughters to University, and maintain my elderly mother. I was told that as of April 9, I am out of the team." She added, "we are the workers who do the heavy work."
Later Martinez told me that she is a housekeeper. The hotel wants her to clean sixteen rooms in eight hours. That is one room every half hour. This means making the bed, cleaning the bathroom, sweeping and vacuuming." "They want one person to do the job of two or three people."
She also told me that Local 30 of Unite Here is supporting the strikers. In fact, a few of the Strikers were from Unite Here.
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