{"id":5061718,"date":"2023-05-05T14:14:07","date_gmt":"2023-05-05T14:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/illatinonews.com\/?p=5061718"},"modified":"2023-05-05T14:14:07","modified_gmt":"2023-05-05T14:14:07","slug":"midtown-athletic-club-fires-over-30-employees-after-workers-speak-out-about-poor-working-conditions-employees-fight-for-their-jobs-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/2023\/05\/05\/midtown-athletic-club-fires-over-30-employees-after-workers-speak-out-about-poor-working-conditions-employees-fight-for-their-jobs-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Employees Fight For Lost Jobs; Speak Out About Poor Working Conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since September, housekeepers at Bucktown\u2019s Midtown Athletic Club have been advocating for better working conditions. They claim they were understaffed, overworked, and operating in dangerous conditions, resulting in injuries for some. However, their pleas went unanswered after the luxury fitness center and hotel abruptly fired them on April 13.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"567\" src=\"http:\/\/illatinonews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Vanessa-Vasquez-1024x567.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5061721\" srcset=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/Vanessa-Vasquez-1024x567.png 1024w, https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/Vanessa-Vasquez-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/Vanessa-Vasquez-768x425.png 768w, https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/Vanessa-Vasquez.png 1352w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Vanessa Vasquez (right) stands with ex-staffer during a press conference on April 20, 2023. (Photo by Brenda Ordo\u00f1ez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ex-staffer Vanessa Vasquez, 30, says she feels humiliated and useless. Vasquez worked at Midtown Athletic Club for two years and says that she was shocked when she learned she was fired through an email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the email, Midtown decided to \u201cexpedite the previously-communicated transition to a third party housekeeping team\u201d meaning workers\u2019 positions were terminated effective immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This email followed another sent on March 23 in which the club first notified housekeeping that their positions would be eliminated on May 1, as the club outsourced the positions to Advanced Cleaning Technologies (ACT).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In both emails, the club stated&nbsp;workers had the option to reapply for their jobs with ACT directly, but that their positions were not guaranteed by the company.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe want to be clear that once this transition takes place, the new service provider will be your employer. They will supervise you and be responsible for your terms and conditions of employment including wages and benefits,\u201d Midtown Athletic Club said in the March 23 email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Employees Fight For Lost Jobs; Speak Out About Poor Working Conditions\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7K2csBH2Uck?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Brenda Ordonez reports for Medill Reports Chicago<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Workers are now feeling devastated and blindsided as they believed they had until May 1 to try to negotiate with the gym to improve working conditions and retain their jobs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The&nbsp;dismissal has fueled ex-staffers to speculate that the club\u2019s decision to fire them just weeks before the May 1<sup> <\/sup>deadline was in retaliation for them speaking out about poor working conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Workers spent the past six months organizing for better working conditions, allegedly filing several complaints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere were many complaints, even by email. We said it through texts, we wrote to them, there were many and with the help of Arise Chicago they began to help us,\u201d Vasquez says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Arise Chicago, an organization that helps non-unionized workers organize, educated the workers on their rights and supported them in filing complaints with the Illinois Department of Labor, Chicago Office of Labor Standards, National Labor Relations Board and Occupational Safety and Health Administration.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFirst talking to these workers, they were raising the concept of a union. They liked the idea of being able to come together and bargain collectively with their employer. But their big focus was around democratizing the work,\u201d Jose Uribe, a campaign organizer with Arise Chicago.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In those complaints, the workers alleged that the club refused to provide them with adequate sick leave and endangered workers by exposing them to unsafe cleaning chemicals without proper protective equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey would cancel our sick days and said we needed a note from the doctor. It was impossible knowing we had a right to our sick days,\u201d Vasquez says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"575\" src=\"http:\/\/illatinonews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/MidtownAthleticClub-1024x575.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5061722\" srcset=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/MidtownAthleticClub-1024x575.png 1024w, https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/MidtownAthleticClub-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/MidtownAthleticClub-768x431.png 768w, https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/MidtownAthleticClub-1536x862.png 1536w, https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/MidtownAthleticClub.png 1818w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Midtown Athletic Club located on 2444 N Elston Avenue. (Photo by Brenda Ordo\u00f1ez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an interview with <a href=\"https:\/\/blockclubchicago.org\/2023\/04\/21\/after-midtown-athletic-club-fires-entire-cleaning-staff-ousted-workers-ask-gym-members-to-speak-out\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Block Club Chicago<\/a>, Midtown\u2019s President Jon Brady said the cleaning staff had the same amount of sick time as every other club employee.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/illatinonews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Skin-Irritation-Part-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5061723\" width=\"221\" height=\"491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/Skin-Irritation-Part-2.jpg 460w, https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/Skin-Irritation-Part-2-135x300.jpg 135w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 221px) 100vw, 221px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by Vanessa Vasquez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vasquez says that she was one of the workers who suffered injuries while at work, claiming that she suffered an eye infection after chemicals splashed in her eye. The injury left her on a month-long disability leave. She also noted that she began experiencing skin irritations when working inside of the gym.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe had no protection,\u201d she says.\u201d We were exposed to many illnesses that caused our skin to become irritated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\">Vasquez says coworkers found needles and blood-stained towels but had no place to safely dispose of the materials.&nbsp;According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osha.gov\/bloodborne-pathogens#:~:text=Bloodborne%20pathogens%20are%20infectious%20microorganisms,expose%20workers%20to%20bloodborne%20pathogens.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)<\/a>, human blood contains infectious bloodborne pathogens that can cause disease in humans. In order to reduce the hazards of occupational exposure to pathogens, OSHA requires employers to implement an exposure control plan that must include providing personal protective clothing and equipment, employee training, and other provisions required by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osha.gov\/bloodborne-pathogens#:~:text=Bloodborne%20pathogens%20are%20infectious%20microorganisms,expose%20workers%20to%20bloodborne%20pathogens.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OSHA\u2019s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"5061726\" src=\"http:\/\/illatinonews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BloodyTowel-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5061726\" srcset=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/BloodyTowel-2.jpg 768w, https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/BloodyTowel-2-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"5061725\" src=\"http:\/\/illatinonews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Bloodied-Towels.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5061725\" srcset=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/Bloodied-Towels.jpg 768w, https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/Bloodied-Towels-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Blood-stained towels found in Midtown Athletic Club. (Photo by Vanessa Vasquez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In response to speculations of retaliatory behavior on the gym\u2019s part, Brady told Block Club Chicago that the long-planned layoffs had nothing to do with retaliation and that staffers were all paid through May 1.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Workers have filed additional complaints in response to the layoffs in hope their pleas will be heard and that they can return to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was one who loved it and we liked it because it was already our second home. You start to make friends with the members,\u201d Vasquez says. \u201cWe love our work and we want to return to our work.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"575\" src=\"http:\/\/illatinonews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/MidtownMember-1024x575.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5061727\" srcset=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/MidtownMember-1024x575.png 1024w, https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/MidtownMember-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/MidtownMember-768x431.png 768w, https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/MidtownMember.png 1368w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Katherine Bissell C\u00f3rdova stands with ex-staffers during press conference. (Photo by Brenda Ordo\u00f1ez) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ex-staffers aren\u2019t the only ones concerned about the club\u2019s response and treatment of these workers. Katherine Bissell C\u00f3rdova, who\u2019s been a member of the gym for over a year, says she and other members were \u201cshocked\u201d and \u201cupset\u201d when they heard how housekeeping was being treated, adding that they were the \u201cbackbone of the club.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bissell C\u00f3rdova says she wants the company to hire the workers back or she and other members will find another gym to work out at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe really want them to rehire these workers or a lot of people I know are considering no longer being part of the club,\u201d Bissell C\u00f3rdova says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since September, housekeepers at Bucktown\u2019s Midtown Athletic Club have been advocating for better working conditions. They claim they were understaffed, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5061719,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[863,25,864,865,866,139,867],"ppma_author":[862],"class_list":["post-5061718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","tag-arise-chicago","tag-latinos","tag-midtown-athletic-club","tag-osha","tag-work-related-injury","tag-workers","tag-working-conditions"],"acf":[],"mb":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/Housekeepers.png",1364,762,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/Housekeepers-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/Housekeepers-300x168.png",300,168,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/Housekeepers-768x429.png",768,429,true],"large":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/Housekeepers-1024x572.png",1024,572,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/Housekeepers.png",1364,762,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/05\/Housekeepers.png",1364,762,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"LNN","author_link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/author\/jermainesmith\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Since September, housekeepers at Bucktown\u2019s Midtown Athletic Club have been advocating for better working conditions. They claim they were understaffed, [&hellip;]","authors":[{"term_id":862,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"brenda-ordonez","display_name":"Brenda Ordo\u00f1ez","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"","first_name":"","last_name":"","user_url":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"mfb_rest_fields":["title","uagb_featured_image_src","uagb_author_info","uagb_comment_info","uagb_excerpt","authors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5061718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5061718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5061718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5061719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5061718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5061718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5061718"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=5061718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}