Picket line Dodgers steal into Hub’s Ritz
The head of the local hotel workers’ union says the Los Angeles Dodgers struck out before the World Series even started by sneaking in the back door of the Ritz-Carlton past their striking union compatriots.
“Jackie Robinson is rolling over in his grave right now that members of his team are crossing the picket line,” said Brian Lang, president of Unite Here Local 26, invoking the name of the first black major leaguer, a former Dodger.
“The Dodgers ought to take his number down ... He stood up for justice.”
The Dodgers are in town to take on the Red Sox in the World Series, which starts tonight. Game 2 follows tomorrow night before the teams head to L.A. If the bestof-seven series hasn’t been decided after three games in Dodger Stadium, the teams will return to Boston to play potential Games 6 and 7 next week.
The union’s hotel workers at seven Marriott properties in Boston have been on strike for the past three weeks seeking higher pay, better benefits and more job security.
Lang said the Dodgers are at the Ritz downtown after having come in through the back door to avoid publicity. Lang told the Herald he’d gotten in touch with the league to try to set up accommodations at a non-striking union hotel.
“It was turned down because there were not enough suites,” Lang said. “For millionaires to hold their desire for luxury over people struggling paycheck to paycheck — I think it’s shameful.”
A Dodgers spokesman declined to comment yesterday when the Herald asked about Lang’s claims. The Major League Baseball Play- ers Association, the union that represents most of the players in the league, did not respond to requests for comment.
The New York Yankees, whom the Sox bested in the first of the three playoff series, also crossed picket lines.
The Houston Astros, whom the Sox beat in the American League Championship Series, chose to stay in a hotel where workers were not striking.
After weeks of pickets chanting and waving signs outside Boston hotels, Lang said he’s seeing progress in negotiations.
“Marriott is finally starting to listen to us,” Lang said.
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, a big supporter of organized labor, said he’d be happy to serve as a mediator.
Marriott said in a statement, “While we respect our associates’ rights to voice their opinions and participate in demonstrations and this work stoppage, we are disappointed that Unite Here has chosen to resort to a strike. We continue to believe that the best place to resolve these issues is at the bargaining table.”