Sheraton workers vote to unionize

Workers at the Sheraton Hotel in Stamford voted on Thursday to unionize. Workers posed for a photo just outside of the room where votes were counted. The final tally was 69 votes in favor and 32 opposed. Workers at the Sheraton Hotel in Stamford voted on Thursday to unionize. Workers posed for a photo just outside of the room where votes were counted. The final tally was 69 votes in favor and 32 opposed. Photo: Ignacio Laguarda / Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: Ignacio Laguarda / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Sheraton workers vote to unionize 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

STAMFORD — Workers at the Sheraton Stamford Hotel voted to form a union on Thursday, becoming the second hotel in the city to support unionization.

The final vote tally was 69 votes in favor and 32 opposed, meaning that workers at the Main Street hotel will join Local 217 of Unite Here, a union representing about 3,000 hotel and food-service workers in Connecticut.

Sheraton workers were seeking unionization because of what they described as low wages, poor benefits, excessive work and an overall lack of respect.

Mariela Sanchez, a housekeeper at the Sheraton, was thrilled with the result.

“I feel very happy because we’re going to have our benefits, more respect, and less worker exploitation,” she said.

The Guatemalan mother of three daughters said she pushed for organized labor because of her children.

“More than anything, we did it for our family’s future,” said Sanchez, who has worked at the hotel for just over three years.

The Sheraton joins Hilton Stamford as the only two hotels in the city to unionize. In January, Hilton Stamford workers voted overwhelmingly to unionize, but their contract has not been voted on by hotel management.

Sheraton management hired Cruz & Associates, a “union-avoidance” company in an attempt to dissuade workers from unionizing.

Cruz & Associates was used by President Donald Trump’s company to block organized labor at his hotels, including at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, where workers voted for a union after learning they earned $3 an hour less than their counterparts at other hotels.

Workers have shared stories of workers being approached by Cruz employees inside hotel rooms in an apparent effort to scare them from organized labor.

Sheraton workers voted against forming a union 15 years ago.