Hotel worker says she lost job because of testimony about 'blacklisting'; Hyatt, contractor deny...

FULL title: Hotel worker says she lost job because of testimony about 'blacklisting'; Hyatt, contractor deny she was fired

http://www.indystar.com/article/20120726/BUSINESS/120726024/Hyatt-hotel-worker-fired-after-talking-Indianapolis-City-County-Council

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Standing outside the Downtown Hyatt at the corner of Washington and Capitol streets on July 26, 2012, Elvia Bahena, 36, said she believes she was fired by Hyatt Hotels Corp. because she publicly expressed her views. / Bill McCleery / The Star

9:39 PM, Jul. 26, 2012

Written by Bill McCleery

The latest twist in an ongoing tussle between several hotel chains and a labor group came Thursday when a subcontracted Hyatt worker said she lost her job after testifying before the City-County Council about the alleged practice of hotel blacklisting.

Labor groups and other critics of major hotel chains say they make agreements with subcontracting companies not to hire away their workers -- in effect, shutting out employees of subcontractors from moving into longer-term jobs with the hotels.

Standing outside the Downtown Hyatt at the corner of Washington Street and Capitol Avenue, Elvia Bahena, 36, said she was fired from contractor United Service because she publicly expressed her views to the council this week. A manager at Chicago-based United Service disputed Bahena's contention that she has been fired, saying rather she "currently is unassigned."

Bahena spoke through an interpreter at a news conference planned in conjunction with the labor group Unite Here, which has worked to unionize hotel housekeepers.

FULL 2 page story at link.