Joey Quits (worker quits hotel job with a marching band)

For more of my music, writing, and organizing, follow at   / joeyquits   and   / laneve__  

Press Inquiries: [email protected]

This is a video about supporting unions and workers' rights.

UPDATE 2017: After a long, long fight, workers at this hotel have finally won the right to organize a union: https://pbn.com/Renaissance-Providenc...

Press Inquiries: [email protected]

FAQ:
1. Q: Why is your name bleeped out but you have your real name in your username?
A: When we first uploaded it I bleeped my name out and didn't have my real name on anything related to the video. Once it began to get popular, I realized I could do more by attaching my name to it than by hiding from it (see my website/other videos/etc.) Youtube doesn't allow you to reupload videos so the name is bleeped out even though I used my real name online now.

2. Q: What's the backstory?

A: I worked in this hotel for 3.5 years. I worked while going to school full time to pay my tuition and living expenses. This was not a job I had for two weeks before quitting in a fit.

The working conditions in the hotel were horrendous. In the kitchen, workers were regularly forced to work 10, 11, 14, 16 hour shifts that begin at 5:30AM and lasted well into the night. Housekeepers were reprimanded if they failed to clean 16 rooms or more in a 9 hour shift. Anyone who spoke up—especially anyone who is openly pro-union—was disciplined or fired. Managers, like Jared, screamed down employees daily.

I worked extremely hard to change the conditions in the hotel. My co-workers and I organized ourselves to push back against management and demand respect. I was one of many workers who led the fight to organize a formal union at the hotel.

The hotel ran a vicious union-busting campaign. They punished and fired pro-union workers, spread lies in captive-audience meetings, and generally attempted to scare the workers out of joining the union. Still, through being organized and threatening to form a union, we won countless victories, including raises, new uniforms, lower housekeeper room quotas, etc.

When I decide to quit the hotel, I made this video to send one last message to management.

After many years, and the brave continued fight of the workers, the hotel finally recognized the union in 2017. I quit my job in 2011, and the workers who stayed at the hotel and continued fighting are the heroes of this story. Support workers everywhere!



3. Q: What's the song?
A: The song is a version of the Balkan tune "Bubamara," arranged and performed by the band in the video 'What Cheer? Brigade' (which I used to be in)



Video of Joey La Neve DeFrancesco quitting the Renaissance Providence Downtown Hotel
Filmed by Jori Ketten, featuring the What Cheer? Brigade
http://www.whatcheerbrigade.com  © Copyright 2011 Joey La Neve DeFrancesco
All rights reserved

Contact: [email protected]

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