Hyatt workers and supporters announced today they will ask patrons to boycott three Chicago Hyatt locations as contentious negotiations over a new contract between the firm and UNITE-HERE Local 1 drag on. Some 250 local Jewish leaders, citing the Torah, pledged their support for the boycott call earlier this afternoon. Here's Rabbi Brant Rosen explaining their position:

Next week, the battle for a new collective bargaining agreement between the Chicago-based hotel behemoth and Local 1 will reach its one-year anniversary. Over the past few months, Hyatt workers and their supporters have sought to escalate pressure steadily on the firm, which union officials say is trying to take advantage of the economic downturn to lock-in a contract that would flatten wages and shrink health care benefits for workers. In May, employees at the Hyatt Regency conducted a wildcat strike. In June, workers picketed the company's annual shareholder's meeting. Last month, Local 1 members took to the streets outside of the Park Hyatt to stage a massive protest. A strike at the chain's Chicago properties is already authorized, and could begin if Local 1's Hyatt bargaining committee calls for it.