Hyatt to pay ousted workers $1m in boycott-ending deal [View all]

Hyatt Hotels Corp. has agreed to pay $1 million to 98 Boston-area housekeepers who were fired five years ago and replaced by lower-paid, outsourced workers, at the time triggering a backlash that drew national attention — and a stern scolding from Governor Deval Patrick.

The settlement, to be announced Friday, could give some workers as much as $40,000, depending on their years of service.

In exchange, the hospitality workers’ union that brokered the deal will call off its five-year boycott at the three full-service Hyatts in the area. The union estimates the boycott cost the hotel chain about $6 million.

“There are plenty of companies that make token gestures, and this is not token,” said Brian Lang, president of the hospitality union, Unite Here Local 26. “This is very significant.”

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/09/25/hyatt-give-fired-housekeepers-million/AfRd71FRhVVfRjIKAMxMzK/story.html