Taxi drivers in Boston threaten to boycott Hyatt hotels over firing of housekeepers

Boston cabbies threaten Hyatt boycott over layoffs

BOSTON — A union representing about 1,700 Boston cab drivers says it will boycott Hyatt hotels in the city unless the company rehires nearly 100 fired housekeepers.

The Boston Globe reports that the Boston Taxi Drivers Association made the threat in a letter to the company.

The fired workers have claimed they were ordered to train their lower-paid replacements after being told they were only vacation fill-ins.

Hyatt Hotel Corp. has said it was forced to make difficult staffing decisions because of the economy, and that it offered the laid-off workers severance, counseling, retraining and health coverage to year’s end.

Gov. Deval Patrick has instructed state employees to stop doing business with the hotels unless the workers are rehired.