nothin Union To Omni: Open Back Up! | New Haven Independent

Union To Omni: Open Back Up!

Laura Glesby Photo

Isadora Milanez leads protesters in a chant.

Reyna Ortiz wants her job back.

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit New Haven in March, Reyna Ortiz lost her job waiting tables at the Omni Hotel. She also lost the health insurance she relies on to pay for her son’s insulin.

After several tough months, she stood alongside her coworkers across from her former workplace in a fight to get her job back.

On Friday, more than 60 UNITE HERE union affiliates showed up with bright red posters, drums, and noisemakers on Temple Street across from the Omni.

They called for the hotel to reopen and hire back its former employees, and to implement adequate pandemic safety precautions. Many of the protesters were former Omni employees themselves, represented by Local 217, the union of Connecticut hospitality workers.

The Omni’s New Haven location has been closed since March. According to UNITE HERE, 113 Omni workers have been laid off since the pandemic began, and their employer-provided health insurance expired on June 1.

In a press release, a union representative wrote that other hotels, such as the Study at Yale, the Blake, and New Haven Hotel, have all reopened in recent weeks.

The New Haven branch is among 11 Omni locations where the hotel chain has decided to temporarily suspend operations,” according to the hotel’s website, due to the unprecedented implications COVID-19 has had on the hospitality industry.” The chain, which has 60 locations in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, has announced a permanent closure of one branch in the Berkshires.

Representatives from the Omni’s corporate center did not respond to repeated requests for comment by the publication time of this article. An employee who identified herself as Lisa from the reservations department told the Independent on Monday that the New Haven branch will open on September 8.

For the branches that have reopened, Omni Hotels and Resorts has released a Safe and Clean” plan for pandemic-era service, detailing food prep, disinfecting, and traffic flow procedures.

The protesters outside the chain’s New Haven location Friday argued that as long as the proper safety measures are in place, the Omni is in a good position to open its branch in the city.

We know that Omni jobs are good jobs,” said Isadora Milanez, an organizer with Local 217 who led the rally. We are here to call on the Omni to open its doors.”

Ortiz said she came to the protest thinking of her 17-year-old son, who has Type 1 Diabetes. My fight here is for him,” she said. The Omni can afford to open up the Omni.”

Everlena Allen (pictured), who worked as a housekeeper at the Omni for 23 years before she lost her job in March, said she came out to protest thinking of her colleagues who haven’t worked as long as she has, and haven’t saved as much. I’m concerned about my coworkers,” she said. Some have kids. It’s bad.”

Valom Simmons (pictured), a maintenance worker, is one of the few employees who did not get laid off entirely; since the pandemic began, he’s been coming into work one day a week to keep the building functional.

As long as the hotel ensures safety measures like hand sanitizer and face masks for employees, Simmons said he wants more time at work. The reduced hours aren’t enough, he said. I got a daughter.”

You had well over three months to figure it out,” Board of Alders President and Local 35 Chief Steward Tyisha Walker-Myers (pictured at center) said to the crowd, directing her comments towards the hotel’s operators. Now is the time to put this money you’ve been saving where your mouth is.”

Downtown/Yale Alder Eli Sabin said that New Haven workers should be treated like family.” These workers are the backbone of our country and they deserve to go back to work,” he said.

Every so often, the protesters chanted in unison: Shame on Omni! Hey, hey, ho, ho, corporate greed has got to go! ¡El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido! 

We’re not gonna sit back. We’re not gonna stay quiet. We will come back as long as it takes until they open their doors,” Milanez said in between chants.

Cheering on the protesters, dozens of drivers passing by honked their horns or raised their fists.

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