Bringing Down The Hotel: Part one

I could formulate this event into a news article, but I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet. Properly, at least.

Along the route to the bookstore, I noticed people holding a strike, circling the entrance with signs. Most passerby's didn't give notice to it, but why would they? How would a strike at a random hotel interest or pertain to them? My curiosity got the better of me, and while I was in the bookstore I picked up some paper and a pen to get information.

I walked up to one of the strikers and introduced myself as a journalist. He gave a surprised look, and I could tell the man wasn't normally talked to here by random people, much less about the strike. With this in mind, I assume he was mildly annoyed with me at first because he probably thought I was mocking him. It would have been easy to come to that conclusion since I don't know much about the situation, and when I heard one line I felt kinda bad that I hadn't known.

This strike has been going on for 6 years. After the hotel froze wages and slashed benefits, people took to the streets. A good portion of the people at this strike were people of family members. As I walked along the circling parade of strike signs and huddled people, Jose (the striker I approached) revealed more and more personal things. His voice lost the stiffness and I was trusted. He revealed they do this from 8-1 in the mornings, and then 4-9 at night. With the cold weather and blistering winds that Chicago proves, this is surely an admirable feat. I felt I was bothering after a bit, so I left to look up more and hopefully return to this cluster.

When I hit my dorm, I immediately searched this issue. Sure enough, they have their own website detailing all of the issues and links to others who feel the same way. In fact, without too much bias, their page suggest you look at people who've stayed at the hotel. Many don't like this place, and it begs the question: why the hell are they still in business if they've garnered so much hate? Are people that ignorant of these user reviews? When it comes to where I'm staying, I'd surely ask those who've stayed previous to me. There's more to this, I know, but first impressions of this place and reaction from those who've stated and don't know anything about the strike are not good.

This is still a boiling issue. It's not going anywhere for quite a while. Congress hardly makes moves to please the strikers. I'll return to the scene with better equipment and better foreknowledge.