Community Marches through Boulder to Call on Sundance to Support Hotel Boulderado Workers
As ticket sales are announced, Boulder community calls on Sundance Film Festival to stand with workers at the festival’s HQ hotel
BOULDER, CO—Today workers from the Hotel Boulderado, along with allies, marched and rallied in downtown Boulder to call on Sundance Film Festival to stand with workers ahead of tickets beginning to go on sale October 5.
On July 1 workers publicly called for a fair process to decide on a union and are now calling on Sundance to support them. Sundance has announced the Hotel Boulderado will be the festival’s headquarters during its trademark January event but has thus far been silent on the matter, leading workers to ask, “would Sundance cross a picket line?”
Workers began with a picket outside the Hotel Boulderado to advertise the hotel as non-union. Joined by supporters from CU Boulder, community and labor groups, then marched along Pearl Street through downtown Boulder with signs that read: “Sundance: Respect Boulder.” At the rally, they distributed lawn signs with the same message to Boulder residents as the groundswell of support grows.
“We are honored that with the Sundance Film Festival coming to Boulder this year, the historic Hotel Boulderado was selected as festival headquarters. As hospitality workers, making people feel welcome is important to us. So we’re asking Sundance to communicate to hotel management that they stand with us in our demand for a fair process to decide on unionization, free of management pressure tactics,” said Birdie Smart, Front Office Supervisor, Hotel Boulderado.
The Hotel Boulderado is owned by Nashville’s AJ Capital Partners—a private equity firm with $5.9 billion in assets. Instead of agreeing to a fair process, the worker’s employer, Schulte Hospitality Group, has brought in anti-union consultants who have been at the hotel meeting with workers in groups and one-on-one for more than eight weeks.
UNITE HERE Local 23, the union backing the workers, has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board alleging the company interfered with employees’ labor rights after they went public with their organizing effort. The charge remains under investigation by the NLRB.
Hotel Boulderado workers and UNITE HERE previously reached out to Sundance to make it aware of the labor dispute. Elected officials including the Boulder City Council and Mayor, State Senators Amabile, Wallace, Marchman, and State Representatives Brown, Joseph, McCormick, and Smith have sent letters to AJ Capital about the upcoming festival expressing support of workers’ demands.
“Boulder workers are talking about wages that aren’t keeping up with the cost of living, heavy workloads, and stressful understaffing. They are asking for a fair process to decide on a union, not the moon. Workers are excited to welcome the Sundance Film Festival to the hotel and are asking the organization to stand with them. Workers are wondering, would Sundance actually cross a picket line?” said Willy Gonzalez, Secretary-Treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 23.
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UNITE HERE Local 23 is the union of food service and hotel workers in Colorado. We represent hospitality workers at hotels, event venues, cafeterias, and at the airport including at the Colorado Convention Center, the Westin Airport; the Hyatt-Denver Convention Center; Google, Coors Field, Denver Coliseum, Mile High Stadium, and Ball Arena; and at food and beverage outlets and lounges at the Denver Airport. UNITE HERE Local 23 represents 3000 people in Colorado and is growing. UNITE HERE Local 23 represents 28,000 total hospitality workers in Georgia, Mississippi, Charlotte, Nashville, DC, Boise, Indiana, Colorado, New Orleans, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Virginia.
Contact: Kimmon Williams, [email protected], 571-451-6307