Jackson Returns From Meeting New Otani Officials in Japan

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and hotel workers union leader Maria Elena Durazo were greeted by dozens of union supporters at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday after a 10-day trip to Japan and Indonesia to “even the playing field for American workers,” Jackson said.

The trip included a meeting with the heads of the New Otani Corp. in Tokyo to discuss the unionizing efforts of workers at the New Otani Hotel in Little Tokyo.

In January, the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union led a boycott of the hotel, demanding that it recognize the union as the workers’ bargaining agent.

Union vice president Durazo said New Otani Corp. officials in Tokyo declined to let her be in the meeting with Jackson. Durazo and Jackson said the corporation was unresponsive. Jackson urged union supporters to continue “keeping the pressure on New Otani for justice.”