Miami Beach Hotel Workers May Soon Have Panic Buttons

MIAMI BEACH, FL — As Chicago's new panic-button law to protect hotel workers took effect last Sunday, Miami Beach commissioners have unanimously approved a similar measure for a city where elected officials often joke: "What happens in Miami Beach never happened." The measure won unanimous approval earlier this week and final approval is expected later this month. If adopted, hotel workers in Miami Beach will be able to summon help at the touch of a button when they feel they are being sexually harassed by guests or worse.

"We're not calling it panic buttons. We're calling them safety buttons," Miami Beach Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez told Patch. "We just want to make sure that housekeepers are equipped with some kind of device where they can alert security."

Subscribe to Miami Beach Patch's free email news alerts and newsletters to stay up to date on what's happening in this urban beach resort

Other cities like Seattle have already taken similar steps. Some hotels are mandated to provide panic buttons under collective bargaining agreements with their workers.

It's not only housekeepers but any hotel employee who is likely to have one-on-one interactions with the millions of hotel guests who flock to this urban beach resort as soon as temperatures start to dip back home. This includes the person who stocks mini bars or delivers food and laundry.

"Truth be told. South Beach is a crazy place. People drink too much. They do drugs. They go back to these hotel rooms and you know who suffers: The workers, the hospitality workers," asserted Rosen Gonzalez, who proposed the measure after learning of Chicago's ordinance while listening to NPR as she was practicing yoga.

Rosen Gonzalez herself was involved in a much publicized sexual harassment case over the past year.

"That's just one time that I had been harassed," she said. "Of course I have compassion for others because it happened to me. The worst part about when it happened to me were the people who didn't believe me."

In Miami Beach, which has more than 11,000 hotel workers, Rosen Gonzalez said that more than 60 percent of female hotel workers are believed to be victims of sexual harassment at one time or another. That's roughly the same as the estimates in Chicago.

"Sixty percent of women who work in hospitality and have to go into people's hotel rooms find that they get sexually harassed. They get touched," she explained. "These are people who don't speak English. They are making very low wages so most of the time they don't speak up because they are afraid."

When she first brought up the idea earlier this year, Rosen Gonzalez said she initially wanted to have stronger protections for workers, including a one-year hotel ban on guests who were found to be engaging in sexual harassment. Local hotels bristled and the language was softened.

“The safety and security of our employees and guests is a top priority in our hospitality industry,” noted Wendy Kallergis, president of the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association. "We look forward to working together this upcoming year with Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber and the Miami Beach Commissioners to implement the most protective and innovative product for our employees.”

The measure will be up for final approval on July 25. If the ordinance is approved, it will take effect in January 2019. All hotels and hostels in Miami Beach would need to offer panic buttons to their employees regardless of the size of the business. The devices can range in cost from $3 for a smartphone version up to $50.

Hotels and hostels would also be required to place a sign on the inside of each guest room door, providing information regarding the new measure.

"On the back of hotel room doors there's going to be a warning: You better behave yourself because these women are equipped with security devices," Rosen Gonzalez added.

Guests arrive at the iconic Fontainebleau in Miami Beach. Photo by Paul Scicchitano.