Striking Hotel Workers Quiet Following Cease And Desist, Neighbor's Complaints

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Striking hotel workers have caused a ruckus outside Lurie Children's Hospital for almost 10 months, but Thursday they were quiet. It's the result of a cease and desist.

A letter from city attorneys asked for the disruptive noise to stop entirely, not just in the late night hours.

They didn't ask the union to vacate, just to quiet down, but no one was there striking Thursday night.

The handful of striking workers are from Cambria Hotel.

The workers were offered the same terms as striking workers accepted at 25 other Chicago hotels months ago, including increased pay and health benefits, but management wanted to increase housekeepers' workloads from 13 rooms per shift to 15.

The problem others have is not the strike but the noise well past the 10 p.m. city noise control ordinance.

"We've heard from nurses and clergymen who would go into a bereavement room for a very private, sensitive moment to have that interrupted by bullhorns, sirens, drums, the list goes on and on," said Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd).

Those on strike were given a tour of the hospital ward with the bereavement rooms, but neighbors say they didn't help.

Hopkins said city attorneys filed a cease and desist Thursday, and the union agreed to quiet down and negotiate.

"In my opinion there really is no need for negotiations. When you're told that you're causing inconvenience to families of sick children and when you're upsetting medical care in a hospital, you have to agree to stop doing that," Hopkins said.

Negotiations between the city and the hotel workers union, Unite Here Local 1, are happening now.

The union did not respond to CBS 2's request for comment.