Gov of MA, the Cadillac of governers.

Post by **silencertalk** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 6:57 pm

Mass. gov tells state workers to shut out Hyatt

BOSTON (AP) -- Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said Wednesday that he has instructed state employees to stop doing business with Hyatt hotels until it rehires 100 housekeepers it fired last month.

Hyatt Hotel Corp., citing declining revenues, laid off the Boston-area housekeepers and replaced them with lower-paid workers from a Georgia company.

In a letter to Hyatt, Patrick criticized the layoffs, citing reports that fired workers trained their replacements after being told they were vacation fill-ins.

He urged Hyatt to work with staffers, rather "than tossing them out unceremoniously."

Hyatt, in a statement, said that like many other businesses it has been forced to make difficult staffing decisions. The company said it offered the laid-off workers severance, counseling, retraining and health coverage to year's end.

Patrick met with about 30 of the workers at a union hall Wednesday night.

"I know these are tough economic times but there is a right way and a wrong way to do things and this was wrong," the governor said following the private meeting.

Serandou Kamara, 32, said she had worked five years at the hotel cleaning rooms and told Patrick how upset she was at the way she was let go.

"We are human beings. What they did to us was wrong," said Kamara, who has three children and is expecting a fourth.

Patrick acknowledged that his own administration has been forced to cut jobs due to a budget shortfall, but said he never misled state workers or asked them to train their replacements.

In its statement, Hyatt said the governor's threatened boycott of the hotel would endanger the livelihoods of 600 other employees who live and work in Massachusetts.

"We do not understand why the Governor is putting more Massachusetts jobs at risk instead of working with us to find jobs for employees affected by the realities of these unprecedented economic challenges," the company said.

Post by **silencertalk** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 6:59 pm

When this was on the radio some woman called in and said she agrees with him and how terrible it was that a few years ago Circuit City replaced workers also. Well, um, they did go out of business. Maybe they felt it necessary to cut costs.

HammerToeJohnson · Post by **HammerToeJohnson** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 7:47 pm

Out of all those who are complaining about the Hyatt's practices, I wonder how many of them are actual business owners themselves? It's terrible when someone loses their job, but this really seems like a poorly though out and entirely emotional response.

Hush · Post by **Hush** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 8:38 pm

What is this lately with .gov telling people how to run their businesses anyway.

There is a difference between getting fired and being laid off, which is it?

Hyatt is willing to retrain them, not many other employers would do that for fired or laid off workers.

One woman ex employee is expecting a fourth child, she is expected to raise it, not Hyatt, they had nothing to do with her pregnancy.

Just more socialist tripe.

Post by **silencertalk** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 8:52 pm

Hyatt also is giving them $600 a month bonus payments in addition to unemployment.

Hush · Post by **Hush** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 9:01 pm

Then the employees should be thankful and the preggy woman should give the baby "Hyatt" as a middle name. lol

Post by **silencertalk** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 9:13 pm

They still have 600 employees in MA so a boycott is counter productive.

Twinsen · Post by **Twinsen** » Sat Sep 26, 2009 5:00 am

The government is forcing bankruptcy to be handled very badly.

It has been last-in-first-out, so that during the period when the company is trying to stay afloat, anyone that helps them is guaranteed to be paid. Consultants and emergency investors are guaranteed that if the company goes out, they get paid. Now, it's all about the government doing whatever it can to force the companies out of business, then carving up assets for unions and other special interest groups. So when a business is teetering, nobody is going to help, and the union is going to get everything.

The plunge into communism, yaaaaay. Shut down every business for short term growth that pales in comparison to the short term returns of a long term plan.

smcharchan · Post by **smcharchan** » Sat Sep 26, 2009 6:57 am

Something special must keep you there Robert...

Something really special.

Blaubart · Post by **Blaubart** » Sat Sep 26, 2009 8:22 am

Now you just have to get him to follow the laws they implemented years back to prevent Mitt Romney from appointing a Republican senator to replace Gore had he been elected VP.

http://www.star-telegram.com/238/story/1632698.html

The fact that MA has an empty senate seat does not constitute an emergency.

steve7478 · Post by **steve7478** » Sat Sep 26, 2009 9:21 am

Is there a right way to lower labor costs while maintaining efficiency?

I wonder how the rooms would have looked after the company cut wages.

Typical responce from a worker who had his wage cut 25%.

"Fine! they want to cut my pay 25% then I will just do 25% less work and steal 25% more s--t. Fine!"

A new employee will be grateful to do all that he/she is expected to do at the lower wage because that is all they know.