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July,
2002
UC
Study Helps Las Vegas Housekeepers Reduce Workload
HERE
Local 226 members rally during contract negotiations.
Workers at 35 Las Vegas hotel-casinos have overwhelmingly approved
union contracts that set new limits on housekeepers' workload. The
workers' union, Hotel Employees/ Restaurant Employees (HERE) Local
226, brought the workload issue into negotiations by citing preliminary
results from a new health study by University researchers.
"Both
Strip and downtown workers kept their health and pension plans,
and we got workload language to protect housekeepers as well,"
said John Wilhelm, national president of HERE. The new contracts
were ratified in late June and early July.
Background
The
study, commissioned by Local 226, sought to find links between the
health and working conditions of the housekeepers, who are called
Guest Room Attendants (GRAs) in Las Vegas. It was conducted in 2001
and early 2002 by a team led by Niklas Krause, M.D., a UC San Francisco
epidemiologist. The team included LOHP's Pam Tau Lee and Robin Baker
as well as other researchers from UC and the University of Nevada-
Las Vegas.
This
work expanded upon an earlier study, also directed by Dr. Krause,
of San Francisco hotel room cleaners. (Click
here for a story on the earlier study.)
Housekeepers
publicized contract demands through rallies, posters, and flyers.
Key Findings
Dr.
Krause presented preliminary results of the study to employer representatives
and GRAs in Las Vegas on May 20, as contract negotiations were underway.
Among the findings were:
- Las
Vegas GRAs on the average clean 15.2 rooms per day compared with
14 in San Francisco. However, more of these rooms are suites than
in San Francisco, so the overall workload is even higher.
- Most
hotels have "incentive" programs to entice GRAs to clean
even more guest rooms. Incentives include dinner tickets for hotel
dining rooms, gift cards for hotel shops, and chances at slot
machines.
-
More than twice the percentage of GRAs in Las Vegas are dissatisfied
with their jobs as in San Francisco (55% vs. 25%). More Las Vegas
GRAs rate their job security as poor (69% vs. 48%), and more have
experienced undesirable changes in their work situation (72% vs.
46%).
- 87%
of Las Vegas GRAs believe that over the past few years their job
has become more demanding. Continuous upgrading of the hotels
has led to an increase in strenuous or time-consuming tasks, such
as cleaning of Jacuzzis, cleaning of large shiny surfaces (glass,
mirror, brass, or marble), or taking out trash.
- 66%
of Las Vegas GRAs say that they skip lunch or breaks or work longer
hours to complete their daily room assignments. Of these, 90%
do so to finish their work on time, and 30% do so to avoid discipline.
Some GRAs even avoid drinking water to reduce trips to the bathroom.
- More
than three-quarters of Las Vegas GRAs say that they experience
time pressure.
The study also found that Las Vegas GRAs are less healthy than the
general population, and less healthy than their counterparts in
San Francisco:
- 78%
of Las Vegas GRAs reported work-related pain during the last year.
However, only 21% had formally reported a work-related injury.
Possible reasons for this apparent under-reporting include: (1)
fear of punitive actions by the employer, (2) discouragement by
medical providers, and (3) the need to pay one's own medical bills.
- 39.3
percent of Las Vegas GRAs have high blood pressure, well above
the 25 percent average for all adult Americans.
- On
a scale of 100 which the researchers devised, the average health
rating for Las Vegas GRAs is 39, compared to 72 for the American
population at large. San Francisco room cleaners have a rating
of 56. A higher score means better health.
Methods
In
designing the study, the
union and University academics wanted to involve the workers in
researching their own issues. In this process, called "participatory
action research," the workers could develop leadership skills
and knowledge which would increase their participation in the union.
The GRAs are primarily women of color, many non-English speaking
and many born outside the U.S. Although they are 30% of the union's
membership, they had previously been loosely organized, with few
shop stewards and committee leaders.
GRAs
met to develop a questionnaire on workload and health.
A
core group of 29 GRAs from 24 hotels met after work over a seven-week
period in the summer of 2001. Simultaneous interpretation was available
since 85% were Spanish speakers. They sought to identify priority
issues and gather information.
The
results were incorporated into a questionnaire, given to a larger
group of GRAs at five unionized hotels. This included questions
about workload, health status, and injuries. All the questions were
translated into Spanish and Serbo-Croatian. Of 1276 eligible day-shift
GRAs, 941 returned the questionnaire (a 74% participation rate).
A
separate phase of the study involved various types of blood pressure
screening given to 783 participants.
Report
Now Online
The
study's final report is now available online. Click
here to view or print the report (in Adobe Acrobat PDF format).
According
to Dr. Krause, "The findings ... clearly suggest that the relatively
high levels of poor health and severe pain among Las Vegas Guest
Room Attendants —compared with those in San Francisco or the
general U.S. population— are at least in part attributable
to the relatively high physical workload, time pressure, and other
job stressors described in this study."
Local
226 officials say they are now interested in addressing the workload
of hotel food service workers and porters.
For
more information on this project, contact Dr. Niklas Krause: nkrause@berkeley.edu.
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