Protests were held last week near several Hyatt Regency hotels to call attention to the use of labor brokers for construction work on the renovation of the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans, Louisiana. One small group braved the 100 degree outside temperature to protest outside of the Hyatt in Austin, Texas.
Labor brokers are often used to hire workers for subcontractors who frequently misclassify the workers as independent contractors. In the Nashville story we recently told you about, the subcontractor used a labor broker, Jaime Juache, to “recruit cheaper labor and help [the contractor] win with lower bids”.
A handout provided by the protesters in Austin explained the problem:
“Hyatt Hotels Corporation is well aware of this issue, yet is unwilling to make assurances that there are no tax improprieties during the renovation of the New Orleans Hyatt Regency. One would think that at a time of serious budget shortages in communities across the country, Hyatt would take the responsible position of ensuring that all appropriate tax payments were made during this important project.”
If you have pictures of one of the Hyatt protests, send them to blogger@constructioncitizen.com and we will post them here.
Update 8/18/2011:
One of our readers sent this shot of the protest outside the Miami Hyatt.
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