Boston Protest Becomes Celebration : Hotel Scrubs Mop Order; Maids Back on Their Feet

A planned protest turned into a celebration in Boston on Friday as the Copley Plaza hotel rescinded its order that its maids scrub bathroom floors on their hands and knees.

“In an effort to avoid any misunderstanding over this issue and at the same time to provide the cleanest accommodations possible, the hotel will provide mops, cloths and everything else that a chamber person needs,” said Aimee Burkard, a spokeswoman for Hotels of Distinction, the company that manages the hotel.

“It’s a great win,” said Domenic Bozzotto, leader of the union representing the maids.

Opponents Unite

The order, issued last month, had angered the maids and created a coalition of labor and women’s rights groups that planned Friday to march on the hotel and on John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co., the hotel’s owner.

Bozzotto, president of Local 26 of the Boston Hotel and Restaurant Workers, said that he learned of the hotel’s about-face Thursday night and that it was confirmed officially Friday.

So, instead of marching in protest, members of his union, the state AFL-CIO Council and representatives of several women’s groups who supported the 44 maids celebrated with a rally at the 393-room hotel.

Ever since the hotel issued the order on Nov. 10, workers--most of whom are black, Latino or Asian--had complained that scrubbing on their knees was demeaning, a throwback to the days of slavery. They also had voiced fears of being cut by razor blades or glass on the floors.

Cites Guest Complaints

Burkard said the order resulted from guest complaints that the floors were not clean enough. “There had never been any intention of making it physically difficult for our staff to perform their jobs,” she said. She did not address the issue of “dignity,” which the union had made a rallying point.

Bozzotto said the order likely was “a move by Hancock to try to intimidate” the union, which will negotiate a new three-year contract with the hotel next year.

“Maybe they were trying to soften people up,” he said. “But clearly this thing backfired on them.”