Penny Sue Pritzker, the Hyatt Hotels heiress whose Superior Bank subprime loan corruption made her unfit to serve as Barack Obama’s Commerce Secretary, has a strike on her hands at the Park Hyatt in Chicago, where temperatures approached 100 degrees today.
Penny Sue’s response to the workers striking for better conditions for housekeepers after almost two years of stalled negotiations? Turn on the heat lamps under the glass awnings, right where the picket line is.
In case you didn’t know, Hyatt is owned by the Pritzker family. Heiress, Penny Sue Pritzker chairs Obama’s national campaign finance committee. She is also big player in Democratic Party politics as well as in the world of anti-union, corporate school reform and was recently appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to a seat on the Chicago school board.
Pritzker’s response to the Park Hyatt strikers was to turn on the hotel’s powerful heating lamps to try and bake the workers into submission on this brutally hot day. But this seemingly inhuman and probably illegal response seemed to have had just the opposite effect. Picketers began chanting, “Hyatt can’t take the heat, but we can!” The lamps were left on until word got out and media began to show up.
This is how Barack Obama’s rich friends treat workers seeking humane conditions in the workplace. It’s no wonder he wants to cut your Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Here’s what the Boston Hyatt did to union workers:
The union says the Boston Hyatt replaced 100 housekeepers with temps making minimum wage. That, they say, is what they’re fighting.
That will probably earn Penny Sue Pritzker a standing ovation at Obama’s next campaign finance committee meeting.



58 Comments

Thanks, rec’d. Don’t stay at Pritzker’s Hyatt hotels till she settles with the union.
This woman is odious, why would any Democrat hang around with her?
Sick shit indeed.
Rcc’d, thanks Teddy P . . .
You are welcome, Larue.
The heat lamps were turned off when the press showed up — but not before the reporters wrote it up:
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/07/21/workers-heat-lamps-shined-on-hyatt-hotel-picket-line/
Does PSP get to speak at the Dem Convention? Will there be cheers from the floor? Confetti? Balloons, even? The fact that his vicious witch is O’s finance chair says it all. O is a Republican and the Democratic Party is dead.
O is a Republican and the Democrats need to replace him.
Hmmm. There has to be a way to leverage this story against O directly.
Along the lines of: Obama fundraising–chaired by a heartless Union Buster. Whose side is he _really_ on?
I meantersay:
lie down with trust-fund babies, get up with fleas!
or something
Ms. Penny Pritzker is a flaming asshole, and not just for this. Years ago, when I lived in Chicago, I was moonlighting as the house manager for one of the live theaters on the north side and had a run in with her. The owner had comped her and her party into the show for that evening, but forgot to notify the box office and the show sold out so no tickets were available. We did our best to accommodate them and seated them in some balcony seats that were not being used for the show. That simply was not good enough and she threw a screaming shit fit in the lobby that would have embarrassed a four year old because accommodations did not suit her. Her sense of entitlement was astounding and almost got her ejected from the theater.
You should read up on how family patriarch Abe Pritzker (a tax lawyer to a certain class of entrepreneur that one does not usually expect to pay taxes) made the family money, which Penny married into IIRC.
http://www.lukeman.com/Titles/supermob.htm
Unbelievable. Neo-robber baron style.
Shame on Pritzker, Hyatt and Obama.
Obama is an anti-labor Democratic president. He ordered Organizing for America out of Madison during the protests. One of his point men, the CEO of Honeywell International, has locked out the union of his Metropolis, IL uranium processing plant after they blew the whistle on illegal radiactive waste storage. Obama appointed this same CEO (David Cote) to the Catfood Commission. Most recently, Cote was deployed to speak to Democratic senators at a luncheon to tell them how they could make it easier for “unconfident” businesses to create all those wonderful jobs. The meeting was cancelled after the President of the Steelworkers’ union protested to Dick Durbin. Cote was just on “Meet the Press” Sunday to complain about how hard it is out there for a businessman. Cote was invited along on Obama’s India trade junket last year, too, even after complaints from the union. From heartless union busters to a seemingly heartless president.
“You shall judge a man by his foes as well as by his friends.”
And I do so judge The Big Zero.
His foes are Progressives, Gays, Socialists the elderly, the poor and needy. His friends well… corrupt bankers (redundant?), Democratic leaders, Republican leaders, Republicans, The rich, The powerful The whores of DC.
Great story. Lady owns Chicago; ain’t capitalism grand?!
Here is an interesting report on the strike. It appears to assert the reason workers were replaced with temps in the first place was to chill sexual-harassment complaints.
http://www.chicagonow.com/2011/07/hyatt-turns-heat-lamps-on-striking-housekeepers/
Not really confirmed, but an interesting angle.
Remember to always Sleep With the Right People:
http://www.sleepwiththerightpeople.org/
If you knew Penny Sue, then you’d know why I feel blue…
Didn’t Obama say something when running in 2008 about “I will put on my shoes and march with you?” It was brought up during the Wisconsin marches this winter when he was, conspicuously, NOT marching with anyone.
I wonder if the Secret Service would let him march in 100 degree temperature under Penny Sue’s heat lamps.
People hardly ever change; great story, doc.
Obama’s “judgement” once again has to be questioned.
Reminds of the the nutty woman with the unpronounceable name who kept speaking out for John McCain….In the throes of the women’s movement I used to think things would be women and that point to view….Wrong!!
Meant POV….
Anyone out there ready to mobilize people to go march in support of these workers?
Wow. Can’t get this story out of my mind. Wouldn’t it be great if a creative FDL’er would make a video or write on song about it? It is f*&@king priceless.
Thanks for the reality check and reporting. Have they no respect, no conscience? There are plenty more of us civilized populists- dump the whole administration and all of its lousy friends. And dump the Republican idiots too. More pies and shoes!
Obama is not a leader for the people. What a disgrace. He is throwing the Democrat party and as Greenwald points out today- the popular platform. His friends are rather shocking.. evil.
Message to Senators Levin, Stabenow..calling you all out now- you and your peers can’t hide in the vote. If you let this poser steal from your people, then you are as bad as he is.. and without conscience. This reform is a ruse to steal SS and Medicare (just like lower imported drugs-remember- and don’t you feel terrible that Obama denied a public option and favors war evermore?) Tax financial transactions, tax the corporations that are without conscience. Cut the defense budget right now! Stop raping seniors, the poor and the sick to make up for the crimes of Wall Street and the banks. Justice! Law and order and regulation, not more corruption. Why not use your power for the people?
No hope. No vote. No money. Sold-out Democrats follow Obama the Pied Piper. No excuses- it’s THE POLICY! Who gives a damn about the party if it stands for nothing for the people?
Teddy, thanks for giving a little more light to where it is so badly needed. Penny Pritzker’s Sun bank history, in light of the already bursting mortgage bubble situation, was the reason my enthusiasm for Obama was stillborn in the first place. I took for granted that is was a signal to all interested that not a thing would be done by way of enforcement or regulation at least on that front.
I must say though that heat lamps on a hot day at a very busy hotel is a new level of public nastiness. It would be interesting to know what else Ms. Pritzker (she’s of the family, not married in) thinks she is entitled to do.
For Obama this is great – afterall, he’s got GE running our economy.
See also “Spotlight on Hyatt”
http://www.hotelworkersrising.org/hyatt/
on a related note:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-07-16/news/ct-met-mayor-rahm-emanuel0716-20110716_1_mayor-rahm-emanuel-union-workers-union-work-rules
“Emanuel said he intends to get private companies to clean the city’s airports and libraries, work now done by city employees. Operators at the city’s water-bill call center and employee benefit managers also will see their jobs outsourced. Those union workers will receive 30- and 45-day layoff notices.
The mayor followed through on his threat to lay employees off because, he said, organized labor failed to offer concessions or cost-cutting ideas to close a budget hole left by the expiration of a deal with City Hall unions to take unpaid days off.
“It has been two weeks and despite ongoing talks between leaders of organized labor and my administration, none of the changes yet have been embraced or agreed upon,” Emanuel said.”
two whole weeks! no wonder he had to act!!!
Employee benefit managers? Ahhhhhh….more looting?
So did the people really vote him in? Where is this guy from and what is he trying to do? Overthrow Chicago? Another gruesome friend of Obama..lots in common in their methods. Sick.
There’s obviously a way around Pritzker. Hold the picket out from under the canopy. She can’t do anything about that.
Well, the point of a picket line is to block the doors.
And the lamps were turned off when the media arrived.
No, they cannot legally block the doors of the business.
Why are they striking? This article doesn’t say and nether do any of the links within it.
Truly awful act. But, this is Rahm Emanuel’s Chicago now. Here in Chicago Emanuel probably would give Pritzker cover to do anything she wanted to any group of people. Fortunately, this headline just can’t be expected to sit well with anyone: “Hotel Management Turns Heat Lamps on Picketers in Already Sweltering Heat.”
I’ve covered this union that is just about the only group of people here in Chicago that you consistently see engaging in labor activism. They plan actions and try to assert themselves like a good union should do. Here’s video from a while back. They sat down and blocked a street for a while (only symbolic, unfortunately; no real resistance that resulted in arrests). This struggle has been ongoing for quite some time.
More proof that you write right wing and 3rd way talking points without bothering to read the article or links:
That’s in the body of this blog post and supported by the link.
I for one am so over Obama.
The hyatt in question is not in Boston.
God bless capitalism
Free market capitalism where the employer is king and you’re a serf, best system in the world for the richest people in the world
Who cares about the poor, they’re not people, corporations are.
Thanks Teddy, you are always up on important but sometimes obscure happenings.
Considering the hostile actions taken against the strikers, presumably ordered and condoned by this lady or someone immediately subservient to her, one would think that criminal charge of reckless endangerment or some degree of assault with intent to inflict bodily harm should be coming out of this incident.
Leona Helmsley Redux, was she even as bad Penny Pritzker?
“Accused of looting family trusts, Ms. Pritzker and cousins Tom and Nick were sued by cousin Liesel Pritzker and Matthew Pritzker who claimed fraud and sought damages in excess of $6 billion. In early 2005, the parties settled the lawsuit which led to the family fortune being split 11 ways, resulting in 10 more Pritzkers joining the Forbes 400; the most members of any family.”link
What a nice person she is. She does this to her own family, why not a bunch of “chamber maids?”
And Obama and Rahm give her seats at many tables, in fact it looks like chicago bankers pulled off a coup.
Pritzker was the Obama campaign finance chairman, and a co-chair of his Presidential Inaugural Committee along with William Daley, the current CoS.
She was his first choice for Commerce Secretary, but she was too dirty to vet. She now sits on his Economic Recovery Advisory Board, and has been appointed by Mayor Rahm Emmanuel to the Chair of the Chicago Education Fund.
Pritzker, Warrren Buffet and Valerie Jarret held $28,500 per plate fundraiser dinners for 0′s campaign.
She is a former board member and Chair of the failed Superior Bank S&L that engaged in irresponsible subprime mortgage lending during the 1990s.
She and her family were central to the innovation known as “Mortgage Backed Securities”… Back then they called it “predatory lending.”
She was a recipient of bailout funds, but she is still on the hook for paying back 416 million to re-compensate investors and partially payback the FDIC.
“Pritzker made a multi million dollar donation to Univ of Chicago Hospital at about the same time Michelle Obama took over a cushy six figure job (that was pretty much of a scam). She got to write off the bank losses and the donation. David Axelrod’s marketing firm handled the marketing for the program that misled the public about the mission.”
A smoking gun:Subprime Obama
“John Edwards and Hillary Clinton are pledging substantial federal resources to stabilize the mortgage market and intervene on behalf of borrowers. Barack Obama’s proposal is tepid by comparison, short on aggressive government involvement and infused with conservative rhetoric about fiscal responsibility.”
“Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama says he’ll crack down on fraudulent sub-prime lenders. If he really means it he can start by firing his campaign finance chair, Penny Pritzker….
Obama’s home state, Illinois, ranked near the top of thee states in the percentage of sub-prime mortgages. Nearly 15 percent of home loans were sub-prime according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. … the sub-prime fall-out was far higher in the predominantly black and Latino neighborhoods of South and Southwest Chicago. … Obama blew off questions about Pritzker and the Superior Bank fiasco with the terse quip (through a spokesperson) that he’d crack down on fraudulent lenders.”
Thanks for the rundown, skf. I meant Superior bank above where I wrote “Sun” (as I tend to do for some reason).
She convinced Obama to abandon support for the Employee Free Choice Act. There’s a nice photo of the two in an elevator here:
http://exiledonline.com/penny-pritzker-one-of-the-mean-little-rightwing-billionaire-gremlins-in-the-obama-administration/
They are said to be quite close.
Wish to h that what remains of our unions would refuse him money next time round. The abandonment of the poor, elderly, unions, etc. is downright breathtaking. Hard to believe the whole leftward tack to beat Hillary wasn’t calculated, duplicitous.
Yeah, Big Ed! A fine commentary this evening.. the heart and soul of the party- sticking up for it- challenge Obummer and tell him no! Thank you Ed.
Don’t even bother.
This thing would sell his own mother for a buck.
she is a gremlin…Leona looked splendiferous compared to this female toad
There were protests at Hyatt’s around the county today. Most of these workers weren’t on strike. This is why:
There’s audio out there of some of the people Penny screwed out of their savings. A radio show interviewing one woman who lost everything was online for a long time.
I don’t know what’s going to happen to the U.S. with this war on the middle class and poor. Anyone want me to sponsor them here in Canada? I had high hopes in 2007 for any dem that won…now? Not at all.
I’m not sure this person values any human life except her own. Very sad. If you’re reading this and haven’t signed the FDL pledge “not to vote for or contribute to any politician who participates in cutting social safety net programs” you still can.
I don’t even know what to say anymore about what is going on with regard to cutting these programs and these heinous people. My grand dad talked me into being a democrat at the age of ten. He knew Woody Guthrie. Jebus Christ on a cracker. The democrats are tearing apart what people believed in and worked so hard for all these decades. Who the hell ARE these people. Obama has usurped every ideal I ever was taught to believe in. Why did this Penny info not set off major alarms before?
good idea.
Teddy and All
I would like it noted that even now, there are no Dems willing to primary Obama.
That all Dem Congress critters and Senators STILL support Obama.
That includes Keith Ellison and Amy Klobuchar.
So the big question is, why will Bernie Sanders, Russ Feingold etc etc NOT challenge him?
Rahm pretty much gave Pritzker the school board as her personal playground so that she can ramp up her teachers’ union busting plans.
Rahm is Governor Walker south.
Hold on to your hats,folks:
Deals: Goldman Sachs, the Waltons and a hotel money pit
Hyatt got a $1 billion investment from Goldman Sachs and WalMart’s Walton family in 2007.
By Allan Sloan
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Goldman and the Waltons put $1 billion into Hyatt hotels in a private deal a little more than two years ago — at a price per share more than double that contemplated by Hyatt in its forthcoming initial public offering.Hyatt filings reveal that in August 2007 — near the peak of the commercial-property bubble, though the documents don’t mention that — Goldman, some of its investment clients and a Walton family investment company bought a combined $1 billion of stock from Hyatt. This money — $575 million from Goldman, $425 million from the Waltons — gave Hyatt the cash it needed to buy back $1.1 billion of stock from members of the Pritzker family.
It is clear that Goldman’s purchase of Hyatt stock is part of a longstanding Goldman-Pritzker relationship. Goldman stands to get an eight-figure fee as the lead underwriter of the Hyatt IPO, which makes its paper loss on Hyatt stock easier to bear.
The Pritzkers have sold most of Marmon Group, a sprawling conglomerate, to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, which is buying the rest in stages. And there’s Hyatt, which seems to be going public primarily to offer the Pritzkers a way to cash in their shares without the company having to raise money to redeem them.(excerpt)
(Continued)
Agitation over corporate-governance aspects of this offering has come not from the usual goo-goo (as in good governance) types, but from Unite Here, a hotel and casino workers union that is trying to organize Hyatt employees. The union’s critique, posted weeks ago on a Web site called HyattIPOWatch.org, had flown largely under the radar until Monday, when the union began publicizing the site.
“This offering lacks accountability to public shareholders, and we think that’s bad for all stakeholders, workers and investors alike,” Matt Walker, a union vice president, told me last week. (Yes, I looked at the Hyatt offering because Walker got me interested in it. No, this article isn’t the union’s take. It’s my own….Allan Sloan)
Allan Sloan – Deals: Goldman Sachs, the Waltons and a hotel money pitwww.washingtonpost.com › BusinessSimilar
Oct 27, 2009 – Goldman and the Waltons put $1 billion into Hyatt hotels in a private deal a little more than two years ago — at a price per share more …
Matthew, please see my posts downthread about the Waltons(WalMart)connection.
WHO has a longer track record of anti-union stance than WalMart?
Wonder if GE made the heat lamps?