Page 5 - ARUBA TODAY

A5
U.S. NEWS Wednesday 12 June 2019

New Jersey mandates panic buttons for hotel room cleaners

By WAYNE PARRY room one day only to have
Associated Press two dogs come charging
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — out at her. She’s relieved
New Jersey Gov. Phil Mur- she will be able to summon
phy signed a bill Tuesday help at the touch of a but-
that he and others said is ton. The devices would au-
the nation’s first requiring tomatically contact build-
most hotels to provide their ing security.
workers with wearable pan- “Today the lawmakers in
ic buttons they can press to New Jersey stood up with
summon help quickly in an my co-workers and I to say
emergency. no more to guests exposing
The Democratic governor themselves to us, soliciting
and several nationwide us for sex, and allowing us
unions said New Jersey is to be unsafe as we open
the first state to mandate the door to a guest room,
the devices, although simi- with no idea what is waiting
lar measures are under for us behind it,” she said.
consideration in Illinois, Flor- “It’s great knowing I’ll be
ida and Washington state. able to come home safe
And some hotel chains in- at the end of my shift. I can
cluding Marriot and Hilton do my job without being
have announced plans worried.”
to provide the devices to Bob McDevitt, the union’s
their workers without being president, said sexual ha-
forced to by government. rassment is real in the hos-
“I am proud to sign panic pitality industry.
button legislation to give “Our country has been pre-
hotel workers security and occupied with millionaire
the ability to immediately entertainers being sexu-
call for help should they ally harassed by billionaire
need it,” Murphy said as he owners, but what is being
signed the bill, surrounded lost in all this are the work-
by one housekeeper from ing women who are far
each of the nine Atlantic In this Jan. 29, 2019 file photo, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy speaks during a news conference more likely to face this kind
City casinos. with Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin in South Amboy. of behavior at their jobs,”
The law takes effect in Jan- Associated Press he said.q
uary and applies to hotels Several housekeepers in- it’s a long floor of rooms
with 100 or more rooms. terviewed after the sign- and you may be the only CAR RENTAL 5616944
In 2018, a 51-year-old room ing said they have had in- one working there.” Address: Paramira #30 (Oranjestad) - Email: yessrentalcar@gmail.com - Website: www.yessrentalcar.com
cleaner at Bally’s casino stances in which they felt “Sometimes they don’t
was pushed into a room by unsafe on the job. have any clothes on when We Rent:
a man who then sexually “If you think something is you knock on the door and Cars- Vans - SUV
assaulted her. wrong, you can push this say, ‘Housekeeping,’ or
“The housekeepers were and help will come,” said they’re playing dirty videos
enraged after that,” said Daksha Parikh, a house- on their laptop,” she said.
Ben Albert, an official with keeper at the Tropicana Iris Sanchez, a house-
Local 54 of the Unite-Here casino. “It’s a layer of pro- keeper at Caesars, said
union. tection for us. Sometimes she opened the door to a