An overwhelming majority of hotel housekeepers and casino workers say they have been sexually harassed by a guest, according to a Unite Here survey of roughly 500 members. The devastating numbers come as many prominent women have stepped forward with personal stories of sexual assault and harassment while in their fields. But, as the Huffington Post reports, “much less attention has been paid to the rampant harassment in blue-collar workplaces, particularly the hotel industry,” where many workers are Latina and Asian immigrants:
If famous A-list actresses must deal with unwanted advances in the privacy of a hotel suite, imagine the vulnerability of an immigrant woman cleaning the room alone, for close to minimum wage, plus tips.
“Frankly, I don’t think much of the public understands what housekeepers go through just to clean these rooms and carry out the work,” said Maria Elena Durazo, a labor leader with the hospitality union Unite Here.
According to the survey results, 58 percent of hotel workers and 77 percent of casino workers said they had been sexually harassed by a guest. Cecilia, a mini bar attendant, recounted stories of a male guest masturbating when she walked into his room, and another of a male guest who attempted to embrace a younger coworker in his room.
Cecilia said she took the coworker to security to report the incident, one that happens at an alarming rate: “65 percent of casino cocktail servers said a guest had touched or tried to touch them without permission.” More than one-half of respondents “who’d reported harassment said they didn’t feel safe on the job afterward,” leading to Unite Here advocating for legislation that would mandate “panic buttons” to help protect workers.
For several years Durazo’s union has advocated for housekeepers to be given handheld, wireless panic buttons that can alert hotel security when a worker feels threatened ― a sign of how dire it views the problem of sexual predation in the hotel industry. After working to negotiate the use of panic buttons in their employer contracts, the union is now lobbying city councils to mandate them through legislation so that all workers have access to them, union and non-union alike.
But, according to Durazo, the panic buttons only go so far in addressing the more fundamental problem: an imbalance of economic power between perpetrators and their victims, especially when the victims are working in or near poverty.
Many women can also be fearful of speaking out due to their immigration status, another reason why immigrant rights are intertwined with this fight. “We have to do something to equalize the power so that women really have the ability to speak up, without having to risk their livelihood. That goes for whether you’re a housekeeper or a food server or a big-time actor,” Durazo said.
As Unite Here tweeted, “low-wage workers have been fighting sexual harassment for years. The national conversation is finally catching up with them.”