Treat Stamford Sheraton workers with dignity
Last month, we were surprised to learn the Stamford Sheraton plans to close, potentially leaving our city with one less hotel and threatening workers with longterm unemployment in the midst of a national public health and economic crisis. The Sheraton’s workers, who have already suffered through nine months of unemployment, have been sent notice that they are being permanently let go.
As elected officials, we are deeply concerned about the ramifications for our community of the permanent closure of this hotel. In addition to eliminating 107 good union jobs, the Stamford Sheraton’s closure will diminish our tourism and business travel industries, affecting many other Stamford businesses. For these reasons, leaders in our community should oppose the closing of this hotel and insist on fair treatment for these workers.
The management of the Stamford Sheraton has a long history of treating its workers unfairly. On April 1, when the first wave of COVID was about to hit Connecticut, the hotel kicked its workers off their health care. It was the first union hotel in the state to take this precipitous and callous action. It was not the first instance of such rough treatment. In 2018, while workers considered union representation, we heard reports from them that the hotel was holding them in captive audience meetings for hours, sometimes until 2 or 3 in the morning, trying to pressure them to turn against the union. In spite of this, workers voted overwhelmingly to be represented by a union. Even then, the hotel forced contract negotiations to drag on for over a year, while management tried to organize against the union.
These actions are particularly egregious when you consider the enormous wealth of the hotel’s owners. While the Stamford Sheraton had been operated by a management company, it is owned by Rockbridge Capital — a private equity firm based in Columbus, Ohio. Rockbridge owns more than 260 hotel assets worth $8 billion.
In spite of this wealth, Rockbridge recently took advantage of low-interest loans from the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). The firm gained between $1 and $2 million dollars from this program specifically for the Stamford Sheraton. These funds were designed to help businesses keep their workforce employed during the COVID-19 crisis.
An out-of-state private equity company that has accepted so much federal money should have done more to keep the hotel open and these workers employed. Leaving workers permanently unemployed without health care at the beginning of a second COVID wave is particularly inhumane. As the hotel industry lobbies our state and the federal government for more public revenue, the treatment of these workers must be considered.
We also worry that losing the use of this hotel will harm our city’s ability to recover as this crisis subsides. Our state is already seeing a major uptick in the number of people moving here. Companies in New York City are looking to relocate to Connecticut. If Stamford loses this hotel, there will be less conference space, one less restaurant and bar, and fewer hotel rooms. Losing this capacity will likely mean fewer travelers will come to Connecticut, harming many small businesses that depend on these travelers for revenue. Moreover, all of the workers who have lost good union jobs are now less able to invest in our city and support our businesses.
Though the seller and buyer of this hotel have not provided much information about its future, the damage of losing the hotel is clear. We are committed to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with these workers to demand justice for them and for our city.