Indiana bride says Chicago labor union harassed her after she listed boycotted hotel on her wedding website

An Indiana bride said a Chicago hotel workers' union has harassed her for months while she's been trying to plan her July wedding, after she listed a hotel in South Bend as a place her guests could stay – a hotel the union is boycotting.

Lauren Johnson said she's been driven to file police reports and send the union a cease-and-desist request over the union's actions, which have included sending fake wedding invitations, calls to her friends and family, and a protest outside where she worked.

Johnson is ready for her July wedding in South Bend – having picked her dress, venue, food, and DJ – but what she wasn't ready for was the Chicago hotel union's response to one line on her wedding website.

"They started calling my personal number, and then they started calling my friends, and then their workplace as well," she said.

Johnson said UNITE HERE Local 1, which represents hotel and hospitality workers in Chicago, found her wedding website where, at one point, she'd posted the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel South Bend as a place guests could stay for her wedding.

"I just recommended it on my wedding website because it was one of the closest hotels," she said.

Lauren said the union centered their boycott of that hotel around her, even though she hadn't signed any contract with the hotel or blocked off any rooms for her guests, just written a couple lines on her wedding website.

"I thought it was a scam, because I was like, 'This can't be real. Why are they trying to get me to boycott a hotel that I'm not involved with?'" she said.

But it didn't end with phone calls to her and the friends and family she'd mentioned on the site. She said union members stood outside of where she works with a sign saying "TELL LAUREN JOHNSON TO BOYCOTT DOUBLETREE HOTEL SOUTH BEND" and handed out flyers telling people to ask her why she hasn't agreed to boycott the hotel.

"I was shaking, I was scared, I was confused; like, actually traumatized," she said.

Johnson said her manager sent her home, and she filed a police report, but it still wasn't enough. Shortly after, she filed another police report, because she said her friends and family started receiving fake wedding invitations from the union, reading, "Say 'I don't' to this union boycotted hotel."

"Basically mocking my wedding," Johnson said.

Johnson said she removed the hotel from her website months ago, and she sent the union a cease-and-desist request last month.

She said she's speaking out in hopes of putting an end to all of this for herself and others.

"I just feel like this is over-harassment. I feel like it's stalking in some type of way," she said.

Johnson said she just wants to get back to what's supposed to be a happy time for her.

"I just want them to stop," she said.

To be clear, Johnson has no association with UNITE HERE or the hotel they're boycotting.

CBS News Chicago has made several attempts to reach the union, including with an email outlining exactly what Lauren described. UNITE HERE hasn't responded, but Johnson said she received a response to her cease-and-desist via email.

DoubleTree hasn't issued any formal statement in response to Johnson's situation.

Johnson isn't alone. At least one other bride is dealing with a similar situation.