Marriott temp claims she was fired after interview
A temporary hotel worker at San Francisco’s Marriott Marquis said she was fired after speaking to The Chronicle about her claim of unpaid wages.
Maria Calles, a Salinas resident, said she was fired Thursday by Marriott contractor Environmental Service Partners, which hired temporary cleaners to replace striking hotel workers. The Marriott strike has spread to eight U.S. cities and is in its fifth week in San Francisco, with workers demanding higher pay and safer working conditions.
The Chronicle reported on Thursday that Calles said she had not been paid for three days of work. California law prohibits employers from firing or retaliating against an employee after he or she “made a written or oral complaint that
he or she is owed unpaid wages.”
Calles is the second Marriott Marquis worker this week to say they were fired by Environmental Service Partners, a Hayward firm. Another worker, who gave his name as Carmelo, has filed a federal charge alleging that he was fired on Tuesday after speaking to a union organizer before his shift. Carmelo and Calles have both alleged unpaid wages.
Calles said she lined up at 2 a.m. in Salinas on Thursday to board a bus that transports workers to the Marriott Marquis in San Francisco. A supervisor named Veronica told her she could no longer work at the Marriott Marquis, Calles said.
Calles spoke to The Chronicle on Tuesday during a lunch break outside the Marriott Marquis. Carmelo said Calles was one of more than a dozen workers who haven’t been paid on time.
“When Veronica came to the line and took my name, she told me that I couldn’t work anymore. I asked why, and she said because I took my lunch break to speak with reporters,” Calles said in Spanish.
“I told her, ‘How is this possible? This is unjust.’ I was speaking with my friend Carmelo, and if I knew that I couldn’t go out during my lunch break, I wouldn’t have” she said. “Veronica told me she didn’t know, those were her orders.
“They fired me unjustly, and I have the right to speak,” she said. “They’re trying to intimidate me.”
Environmental Service Partners has not responded to The Chronicle’s inquiries about alleged labor violations since Wednesday. On Friday, a woman who answered the company’s phone said she wasn’t authorized to speak and said the company would respond later.
“We suggest you contact ESP with any concerns about their pay or employment practices,” Marriott said.
Separately on Friday, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on the strike. Around 1,000 hotel workers who are members of Unite Here Local 2 attended the meeting.
Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson declined an invitation to speak at the hearing, said Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who said she was “insulted” by the Marriott official’s decision not to show up.
“While Mr. Sorenson was unable to attend, he did send a thorough response to Supervisor Ronen on the current negotiations in San Francisco. We do not negotiate in the press and therefore will not be commenting on the specifics,” the company said.