Former employees of Sonesta Select Austin Hotel are calling on hotel owner Ajay Patel to meet with them and respond to allegations of serious labor violations, including unsafe working conditions, wage theft, and retaliation for attempting to organize in order to improve workplace conditions.

Mr. Patel indicated goodwill to meet with the workers and staff of Workers Defense, but has ignored multiple attempts at communication since then. The impacted workers were unaware they would be risking their jobs for simply speaking out against allegedly unsafe conditions, and nine believed they were fired for doing so.

The hotel is currently under investigation by the National Labor Relations Board, and workers are demanding immediate action to stop further harm and exploitation.