PROVIDENCE’S PAIN PROBLEMPROCACCIANTI HOTELS HURT WORKERS

Hotel housekeeping is challenging and dangerous work anywhere. In Providence, workers at Procaccianti Group hotels suffer injuries more frequently than their peers nationally and locally.

The Procaccianti Group (TPG) is a Cranston-based real estate investment and management company. It currently owns three hotels in Providence: the Hilton, the Renaissance, and the Wyndham. With 3 out of 9 full-service hotels in Providence, The Procaccianti Group is the largest hotel owner in the city.

Higher Rates of Injuries at Procaccianti Group Hotelsi

Health and safety records maintained by the Renaissance and Hilton hotels show that hotel workers across all job classifications at the Procaccianti Group hotels have suffered injuries more frequently than their peers nationally:

• The incidence rate for work-related injury and illness was 69% higher at the Hilton and 85% higher at the Renaissance Hotel than the national average rate for hotel workers in 2013.ii

• Workers at the TPG hotels suffered injuries resulting in days away from work at a rate nearly four times the national average in 2013.iii

• Additionally, workers at the TPG hotels suffered injuries resulting in job restrictions, job transfers, or days away from work at a rate nearly three times the national average in 2013.iv

Workers at TPG hotels also suffer injuries more frequently than their peers locally at two union hotels in Providence, the Omni and the Biltmore:

• The incidence rate for work-related injury and illness that resulted in days away from work was 42% greater at the two TPG hotels than the two union hotels.v

• Workers at the two TPG hotels suffered injuries resulting in job restrictions, job transfers, or days away from work at a rate 33% greater than workers at the two union hotels.vi

“I was injured in May 2015 while cleaning a room I was told to clean quickly. While clean-ing the shower curtain I fell and injured my leg, back, and head. I am unable to work or even walk without the use of a cane. I am in constant pain. I moved to Providence to provide a better life for my family and this isn’t it.”

-Susana Ramirez, Hilton housekeeper, 13 years

HEAR HOW PROCACCIANTI HOTELS HURT ME...

HEAR HOW PROCACCIANTI HOTELS HURT ME...

Procaccianti’s Painful WorkloadsDuring the spring of 2015 a majority of housekeepers at the TPG-owned Renaissance and Hilton hotels were surveyed about their experiences.

• 74% of respondents reported that they were in pain while taking the survey and 72% of respondents reported that they took medicine for their pain.

• A majority of respondents indicated that they had long term physical effects due to working at the hotel.

• 93% of survey respondents believe they will be in pain for the rest of their lives from working at their hotel.

Housekeepers at The Procaccianti Group hotels report high workloads. At the Hilton workers are expected to clean anywhere from 17 to 23 rooms in one shift. This means that housekeepers at the Hilton may need to clean each room in 20 minutes or less. At neither TPG hotel are reductions in work-load made for more strenuous work such as clean-ing check-out rooms, deep cleaning, and traveling between floors.

Housekeepers at unionized hotels in Providence have much reduced workloads. vii The work-load per shift is 15 at the Omni and 14 at the Biltmore. Contracts at both hotels reduce the workload for more strenuous work.

“Like many of my coworkers, I was injured many times while working at the Renaissance Hotel. I have been out of work due to my latest injury for over a year now. I have difficulty using my arms, and suffer from nearly constant pain in my neck, arms, and hands. The pain I’m in affects my two-year old son and husband. There are days when the pain and the stress of this situation make me feel overwhelmed.”

-Santa Brito, Renaissance Housekeeper, 3 years

The incidence rate for work-related injury and ill-ness was 69% higher at the Hilton and 85% higher at the Renaissance Hotel than the national average rate for hotel workers in 2013.

The Procaccianti Group is Hurting Providence.Housekeeping staff who work at the Procaccianti Group hotels should not have to suffer pain and injury as a result of their work. Elsewhere in Providence, housekeepers are able to work under conditions that result in significantly low-er rates of injury.

As the largest hotel owner in Providence, The Procaccianti Group should be a leader in the hospitality industry. Instead, The Procaccianti Group’s silence on pain and injuries of its hotel workers is hurting our city.

“When The Procaccianti Group bought the hotel in 2013 the number of rooms I cleaned more than doubled. In July 2014 I injured my back removing a rollaway bed. I now use a cane to walk and can’t sleep because of the pain. My injury has prevented me from returning to work and I have had to ask for assistance from local charities. It has been my dream to retire in my house. Now that I’m facing foreclosure, I’m not sure that’s possible.”

-Julian Bello, Renaissance Houseman, 8 years

319 Broadway, Providence, RI 02909

iThe analysis was performed using the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s Injuries, Illness and Fatalities calculator and records accessed from the Hilton Provi-dence, the Providence Renaissance Hotel, the Omni Providence, and the Biltmore Hotel. National comparisons were made between the hotels’ data and the national rates (rates for RI were unavailable) for “Hotels (except casino hotels) and Motels” (NAICS code 721110) in 2013 (the most recent year for which information was available from the BLS). Comparisons between TPG hotels and union hotels were made while comparing data from 2014 as the 2013 records for the Biltmore were incomplete. Rates are calculated as the number of incidents per 100 full-time employees per given year. iiIn 2013, the total injury and illness incidence rate was 10 for the Renaissance and 9.1 for the Hilton, which is respectively 85% and 69% higher than the national rate of 5.4. iiiThe days away rate for the TPG hotels was 6.2 in 2013, which is 3.88 times the national days away rate in 2013 of 1.6.ivThe DART rate for the TPG hotels was 8.45 in 2013, which is 2.91 times the national DART rate in 2013 of 2.9.vThe incidence rate for days away from work was 4.05 for the union hotels and 5.75 for the TPG hotels, which is 41% greater. This is comparing data from 2014 (2013 records from the Biltmore were incomplete).viThe DART rate was 4.3 for the union hotels and 5.75 for the TPG hotels, which is 33% greater. This is comparing data from 2014 (2013 records from the Biltmore were incomplete).viiBiltmore Contract Appendix B and Omni Contract Article 25.