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Buddhist Peace Fellowship
P.O. Box 3470, Berkeley, CA 94703
(510) 655-6169 • www.bpf.org
BPF Stands in Solidarity with Locked Out
San Francisco Hotel Workers
November 5, 2004
On September 29, hotel workers in four of San
Francisco's luxury multinational hotels announced a two-week strike
for improvements in wages and protection of health and pension benefits.
Immediately, ten other San Francisco hotels locked out their workers,
depriving the workers of their basic livelihood. On October 13,
trusting that negotiations for a contract would continue in good
faith, workers attempted to go back to their jobs and were locked
out. Currently, 4,000 workers are struggling to take care of themselves
and their families.
On November 5, in an action organized by the
National Interfaith Committee on Workers Justice (www.nicwj.org),
religious leaders in the San Francisco Bay Area came together to
offer support for these workers. BPF's executive director Maia Duerr
joined the group and gave this statement on behalf of the Buddhist
Peace Fellowship.
The Buddhist Peace Fellowship is made up of
more than 4,000 people who feel an obligation to bring their Buddhist
practice out of meditation halls and into the streets to work
for peace and justice for all. We are honored to be here today
and offer you our solidarity and support.
We recognize that in a country where the income
for the top 1% has increased more than 200% from 1980 to 2000,
and where nearly 36 million people live under the poverty rate,
these cannot be conditions for peace and wellbeing.
Our tradition teaches us that injustice has
its roots in our unwholesome mental states: greed, anger, and
delusion. But we also learn that in each one of us, there is a
natural wisdom and compassion.
We call upon the hotel owners to cut through
their own greed and to find the wisdom and compassion inside of
themselves to end this lock out, bring you back to work, and negotiate
a fair contract.
We call for a world where all can have enough
resources to take care of themselves and their loved ones, and
to have adequate means to take care of their health needs, so
that all beings may live in safety and peace.
What BPF members can do to support the
workers:
If you or someone you know is planning a trip to San Francisco,
find alternatives to staying at the major hotels. Contact the hotel
and tell them you will not patronize them as long as they continue
unfair labor practice.
More information is available at www.hotellaboradvisor.info/hotelguidestrike.asp.
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