Human Trafficking and the Hospitality Industry Vulnerabilities and Opportunities. Jasmine Marwaha, UNITE HERE Local 8

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1 Human Trafficking and the Hospitality Industry Vulnerabilities and Opportunities Jasmine Marwaha, UNITE HERE Local 8 jasmine@unitehere8.org

2 Important: I am not accusing any hotel of engaging in human trafficking. Please don t sue me.

3 Overview How the root causes of human trafficking * manifest in the hospitality industry Vulnerabilities of workers Demand for Cheaper Labor Increasing Use of Subcontracting Inadequate Laws and Policies Enforcement of wage and hour laws Hotel companies (or customers) as change agents Case in point: Sex Trafficking and The Code Ongoing challenges the need to organize *European Commission, see

4 Perspective Unknown scale of problem in hospitality 14.2 million people are victims of forced labor exploitation in economic activities 1 agriculture, construction, domestic work, manufacturing a majority of forced labourers in economic activities have not moved away from their home areas. These figures indicate that movement can be an important vulnerability factor for certain groups of workers, but not for others. movement is a major vulnerability factor for trafficked hospitality workers 1 ILO 2012 Global estimate of forced labour, available at: declaration/documents/publication/wcms_ pdf

5 A Vulnerable Workforce Immigration Status Fear Language Barrier Lack of Support Network Recruitment Debt The majority(56%) of hotel workers in Downtown Seattle were born outside of the US. Nature of the work

tuck 4-8 times Spread duvet on bed Remove 4-8 pillowcases per bed and stuff pillows into fresh cases Dust all nightstands and desk Carefully restock and arrange pens, papers and other written

6 Can you do these tasks in less than 30 minutes? 15? BEDROOM TASKS Remove all room-service items from room Strip bed(s) of all sheets, blankets and duvets Place bottom sheet on each bed and tuck 4-8 times Place top sheets and blanket on each bed and tuck 4-8 times Spread duvet on bed Remove 4-8 pillowcases per bed and stuff pillows into fresh cases Dust all nightstands and desk Carefully restock and arrange pens, papers and other written materials (i.e. room service menus) on desk Dust armoire or dresser, including behind the TV Clean TV screen Retrieve TV remote and rearrange TV channel guides Pick up trash and empty bedroom s wastebasket Wash and dry ice bucket and rearrange on counter Collect, wash and dry dirty glasses Dust vents Put away all ironing boards and other equipment Vacuum all floors BATHROOM TASKS Pick up soiled towels and place on cart Replace soiled towels Clean and disinfect toilet bowl Wipe down top and side of toilet Restock toilet paper Wipe down counter tops Clean sink(s) and polish faucets Replace and arrange toiletries (i.e. shampoo, soaps) Clean bathroom mirror Wash and dry coffeepot and cups and rearrange on counter Scrub inside of bathtub Clean/replace shower curtain or scrub shower door Clean bath and shower walls Pick up trash and empty bathroom wastebasket Mop floor Dust vent

7 we re experts at saving clients money. From the obvious better all-in hourly rates, to more subtle savings such as reducing turnover, overtime, and shielding you from trailing liability. - Hospitality Staffing Solutions

8 Increasing Use of Subcontracting Cautionary Tales Boston Indianapolis Boston Subcontracting creeping The U.S. Department of Labor has labeled the hospitality industry as high risk of frequent federal wage and hour law violations, stating that the practice of subcontracting increases the incentives for employers at lower levels of industry structures to violate workplace policies.

9 Enforcement of Wage and Hour Law? Vastly underreported 2009 study found that 26% of low wage workers surveyed paid less than minimum wage 76% not paid or underpaid for overtime hours Fear Lack of resources for real investigation 2,400 investigators to enforce baseline workplace standards for 87.7 million people

10 Recap How the root causes of human trafficking * manifest in the hospitality industry Vulnerabilities of workers Demand for Cheaper Labor Increasing Use of Subcontracting Inadequate Laws and Policies Enforcement of wage and hour laws Can we organize to combat human trafficking?

Lessons from The Code Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct, Suppliers of tourism services adopting the code commit themselves to implement the following six criteria: 1.

11 Lessons from The Code Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct, Suppliers of tourism services adopting the code commit themselves to implement the following six criteria: 1. To establish an ethical policy regarding commercial sexual exploitation of children. 2. To train the personnel in the country of origin and travel destinations. 3. To introduce a clause in contracts with suppliers, stating a common repudiation of commercial sexual exploitation of children. 4. To provide information to travellers by means of catalogues, brochures, in-flight films, ticket-slips, home pages, etc. 5. To provide information to local "key persons" at the destinations. 6. To report annually.

12 The need to organize Public pressure has been used to some success. Community campaign One other factor when talking about labor trafficking

13 The Collective Bargaining Difference Less Fear Increased worker protections Seattle union hotels prohibit subcontracting in their contracts Tale of two wage theft cases: Space Needle vs. Hotel X

14 To Sum Up The hospitality industry contains all the elements that can lead to labor trafficking Unique opportunities to create awareness and enforcement in the industry

Do Not Disturb/Please Clean Room: The Invisible Work and Real Pain of Hotel Housekeepers in the GTA

Ryerson University Digital Commons @ Ryerson Theses and dissertations 1-1-2008 Do Not Disturb/Please Clean Room: The Invisible Work and Real Pain of Hotel Housekeepers in the GTA Sirena Liladrie Ryerson