Segal Launches Westin Campaign

State Representative David Segal, expected to announce a run for Congress in the near future, has posted a piece on the left-leaning national blog Daily Kos asking progressives to sign a petition backing the workers at the Westin hotel, who are locked in a dispute with management.

The post quotes the political director of Netroots Nation, a large coalition of progressive blogs, suggesting that the group will drop plans to hold its annual conference in Providence next year if workers' needs are not met. From Segal's post:

The hotel management's actions have compelled a local boycott of the Westin, and progressives have exerted smart leverage in this fight. Nolan Treadway, political director of Netroots Nation, writes about their choice of venue for 2011:

We're ready to commit to Providence, but we will only do so if we know the workers are getting a fair shake - and for us that means working under a collectively bargained contract that the employees vote to accept.

We need even more concerned people from across the country to join us as we push to win a fair deal for Rhode Island workers. That's why I asked Netroots Nation, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and RIFuture.org to join me on this petition to hotel management:

"Westin management's decision to slash salaries, increase health care costs, and undermine unions is wrong. Providence and the Westin could benefit greatly from the Netroots Nation convention, but the workers should be able to share in those benefits. Management has the power to resolve this dispute, and should give providence-area workers a fair deal."