June 15, 2004, Picket at the Congress Plaza Hotel
photos by Bob Roman
On June 15, 2004, workers at the Congress Plaza Hotel had been on strike for one year. An especially big demonstration is planned to mark the occasion.
As the AFL-CIO's organizing conference adjourned up the street, the crowd grew quickly. But all of Labor turned out. For example, that's Carl Rosen of the United Electrical Workers slouching along to the left of the police commander. The Carpenters Union also had a significant delegation at the picket.
If the pickets begin to look alike, it's because HERE Local 1 had commemorative t-shirts available.
In case management hadn't gotten the message....
Rats, courtesy of UFCWU Local 881.
Infiltrators hung a banner from a mid-floor window of the hotel.
At its largest point, well over a thousand people participated in the picket.
Another view of the rats, a public comment on the hotel's attitude toward its employees.
While there was one other instance of civil disobedience (traffic blockade on Michigan Avenue), it was highly scripted. Generally, there was not much for the police to do; this photo is typical.