VSN urges university to divest from hostile hotelier
Ari Schwartz
Issue date: 1/27/10 Section: Opinion
Vanderbilt University's mission statement makes a commitment to the value of "intellectual freedom that supports open inquiry, equality, compassion, and excellence in all endeavors." These values are all evident in the university's academics, extracurriculars, faculty and staff. In Vanderbilt's investments, however, a commitment to these values is not as apparent.
Recently, the endowment has been widely discussed on campus due to its sharp downturn in last year's recession. But financial gains and losses are not the endowment's only relevant aspects to students. By investing the university's money in various companies around the world, Vanderbilt is in turn condoning the business practices of those companies. Just as Vanderbilt stays true to its commitment to equality in admissions and awarding scholarships, it must do the same in its investments by maintaining those same values.
Students at several prestigious universities across the country, such as the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, and Princeton have organized to protest their schools' investment in a hotel management company called HEI Hotels & Resorts. This company has recently come under heavy criticism from workers, community and faith leaders, and students for its unjust treatment of workers. HEI operates by buying hotels, making them extremely efficient by overworking and underpaying its workforce, and selling these hotels for a profit. The universities invested in HEI earn a percentage of that profit.
At the HEI-owned Sheraton Crystal City in Virginia, 20-year employee Ferdi Lazo was suspended from work after organizing workers for unionization. HEI's stated reason for the suspension was that Lazo was not doing his job fast enough. In response to Lazo's suspension and other union busting actions by HEI such as interrogations, threats, and the firing of leading worker organizer, Crystal City workers filed charges. These charges moved the National Labor Relations Board to issue a formal complaint against HEI for illegal, anti-union activity. A trial is scheduled for April. In official statements, HEI has denied all charges and maintains that their company is union-friendly and worker-friendly.
Recently, the endowment has been widely discussed on campus due to its sharp downturn in last year's recession. But financial gains and losses are not the endowment's only relevant aspects to students. By investing the university's money in various companies around the world, Vanderbilt is in turn condoning the business practices of those companies. Just as Vanderbilt stays true to its commitment to equality in admissions and awarding scholarships, it must do the same in its investments by maintaining those same values.
Students at several prestigious universities across the country, such as the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, and Princeton have organized to protest their schools' investment in a hotel management company called HEI Hotels & Resorts. This company has recently come under heavy criticism from workers, community and faith leaders, and students for its unjust treatment of workers. HEI operates by buying hotels, making them extremely efficient by overworking and underpaying its workforce, and selling these hotels for a profit. The universities invested in HEI earn a percentage of that profit.
At the HEI-owned Sheraton Crystal City in Virginia, 20-year employee Ferdi Lazo was suspended from work after organizing workers for unionization. HEI's stated reason for the suspension was that Lazo was not doing his job fast enough. In response to Lazo's suspension and other union busting actions by HEI such as interrogations, threats, and the firing of leading worker organizer, Crystal City workers filed charges. These charges moved the National Labor Relations Board to issue a formal complaint against HEI for illegal, anti-union activity. A trial is scheduled for April. In official statements, HEI has denied all charges and maintains that their company is union-friendly and worker-friendly.
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