Sometimes Things Just Work Out

You know how sometimes it feels like we work and work and work at things but never feel like we’re getting anywhere?

I know I feel like that sometimes (or even more often, depending how things are going…) – but today is not one of those days!

In just the last couple days I have had wonderful news from two of the groups of workers I have been helping out this year. I work with an inter-faith clergy group organized by my good friend and colleague the Rev. Daniel Klawitter, a Methodist Minister who works for F.R.E.S.C. (don’t you love acronyms?) – the Front Range Economic Strategy Center.

FRESC, and the diverse clergy group I work with are committed to the following principles:

• Coloradans who work hard should be able to provide for their families and have the opportunity to achieve a good quality of life.
• The public should have a meaningful voice in the government decisions and investments that impact their communities and their lives.
• Economic development should build environmentally safe and sustainable communities where ordinary people can afford to live and work.



FRESC utilizes policy development and advocacy, academic-level actionable research, community organizing and non-partisan civic engagement to promote the creation of jobs that pay family-sustaining wages with benefits, housing and health care which are affordable to all families, and neighborhoods that are environmentally safe and sustainable.

Our clergy group, which is made up of clergy from Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Unitarian Universalist and a variety Protestant Christian denominations, works side by side to help bring these principles to life right here in our own back yards.

But as I said before – lots of the time progress is hard to see and victories can feel few and far between.

But not today.

Just this week I have received two wonderful emails, with victories attached. In both cases, members from our clergy group first met with workers and then reached out separately to management, offering our support and encouraging a fair and peaceful resolution of their differences on behalf of our congregations and faith traditions as well as ourselves.



The first was from a group of workers who work as therapists, teachers, counselors and assistants at a school for children with severe disabilities, behavioral issues and mental health concerns. Workers there have been fighting for well over a year now to improve workplace health and safety (which are big issues there), to improve staff/client ratios and to provide a higher quality of care.

After enduring months of aggressive and illegal intimidation and retaliation, the National Labor Relations Board has ruled that the school had indeed been violating their employee’s rights in many ways, some of them very serious. The primary author of these violations has been forced to resign and the workers are now more hopeful than ever that they can finally turn the page on all the unnecessary conflict and get back to what really matters – helping to transform the lives of the children they serve.

The second email was from a group of hotel cleaning staff at the Hyatt Regency downtown. You can read my original blog posting here: http://acrossthethresholduu.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html



I always had a good feeling about this one. Not only were the workers simply wonderful people – so full of commitment and integrity and a palpable spirit of solidarity – but the management team seemed genuinely committed to making things better as well. In an unusual gesture of goodwill, for example, the management negotiating team was perfectly open to having our clergy delegation join both sides at the bargaining table to speak our peace as ministers and community members and to stay for the rest of the session as observers. This is very unusual, and I was heartened by their open and relatively healthy approach to the problems at hand.

But that was WAAAY back in September!

Still, I was thrilled to get a thank-you note from the workers today. They were writing to let us know that they have finally come to a fair and just agreement with the hotel, and agreement which should drastically decrease workplace injuries while also lowering the costs of health care, increasing wages and giving them an active and constructive voice in their working lives.

So if you ever need a good hotel in Denver, I am more than happy to recommend the Hyatt Regency, where you can sleep well knowing that your pleasant and comfortable stay (and especially your immaculately clean room!) comes compliments of safe, secure and healthy employees - and a company which is fulfilling its commitment to be a good corporate citizen.

Boy do I love sharing good news!