Capturing Resilience: The Workers Versus The Westin St. Francis
Human willpower at its finest.
2018. From the fourth of October to the end of November, heavy protesting occurred near Union Square in downtown San Francisco. Two-thousand employees from Marriott’s Westin St. Francis hotel went on strike for various reasons. Though picket signs clearly show a need for change in wages, the issue of harassment towards housekeepers was also prominent.
The protesters in question fought for sixty days and nights. The photographs, below and above, show that courage. These images exemplify the visual narrative of resilience, discipline, and willpower of humanity. I was there at Union Square for a total of three hours, along with my academic colleagues for our digital photography course. Within those three full hours, I can confirm that the chants and roars from frustrated workers held high. Not a single second went by without their voices being heard.
In December, their voices would conclusively be heard. Workers of The Westin St. Francis Hotel and Marriott agreed to better wages and a more suitable/safe working environment, ceasing the largest hotel strike in San Francisco within the past few decades, making the protest a success for the future.
