rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/form/tell-queensgate-bring-fairness-to-the-freehand?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-form-area-tell-queensgate-bring-fairness-to-the-freehand' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> UNITE HERE Local 11 https://actionnetwork.org/groups/unite-here-local-11 https://actionnetwork.org//images/generic_facebook.jpg Jason Kow Founder & Chief Executive Officer Queensgate Investments LLP 8 Hill Street London, W1J 5NG Dear Mr. Kow: We are aware of public reports that Queensgate Investments is in the process of acquiring the Freehand Hotel Los Angeles. As people of faith, we welcome new corporate citizens into our community with a measure of caution: while people need jobs, they also need a respectful workplace, a fair wage, decent benefits, a stable work schedule, and a voice in their employment experience that will be heard. If this reported sale goes forward, we hope that your firm will contribute to the vitality of our thriving economy as a new corporate citizen in our City. We do not come by these standards by accident. Over and over the messages from our traditional religious sources demand these as basic conditions of a fair workplace: Jesus of Nazareth spoke of paying workers “the usual daily wage” – meaning that whether they worked a whole day or part of a day, the worker needed enough for their family to live another day. The Torah demands, in Leviticus, that wages be paid on time, and in Deuteronomy that the employer should protect workers – meaning that workers should not be asked to live in jeopardy when they have demonstrated their reliability as workers. The Prophet Mohammed pronounced shame upon “one who hires a worker, but does not pay him his right wages owed to him after fulfilling his work.” In another text, he admonished “nor withhold from the people the things that are their due.” The Dalai Lama addresses employers, saying “their attitude should be to bring benefit to people and not merely to make a large profit.” We take these readings to mean that a workforce that has proved its value should be retained, that individual workers should be encouraged in their faithfulness to their place of employment, that they should expect a pay that enables them to survive and thrive, the healthcare and retirement they need to make life possible, and the respect that comes from doing a solid day’s work. The Freehand workers deserve this respect and so much more. So even as we welcome you to our community, we do so with these important standards in mind, and we will be watching to see that they are honored and upheld.  Most immediately, in the event that you assume ownership of the property, we ask that your company commit to maintaining the current workforce. We are especially concerned about the future of the workforce because workers at the Freehand Los Angeles have alleged that the hotel’s current operator has failed to provide them with a dignified work environment. These allegations include a pending lawsuit brought by a housekeeping employee alleging that she was made to clean men’s restrooms without an effective means of preventing male guests from entering and urinating in front of her and a pending Cal/OSHA complaint filed by another housekeeping employee alleging that he was made to clean up sewage water following overflows from a basement cistern without adequate training or protective equipment. We also understand that the current operator has refused workers’ requests for a fair process to choose whether to unionize. If your company takes over the property, we hope and expect that you will ensure that workers are provided the dignity and respect that all workers deserve. https://actionnetwork.org/forms/tell-queensgate-bring-fairness-to-the-freehand