Rev. Israel Alvaran serves as Interfaith Organizer for Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice of California (CLUE-CA) and the hotel and restaurant workers union UNITE HERE Local 2 in San Francisco, CA. Rev. Alvaran is a Board Member of the East Bay Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, and has served as member of the UMC's Concern for Workers Task Force, and Person-in-Mission for labor and social justice advocacy of the Manila Episcopal Area of the UMC. With organizers of the New Sanctuary Movement (NSM) and the Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights (ICIR), he co-chairs the San Francisco cluster of faith and community groups that advocate for immigrant and workers‘ rights.

Bay Area Religious Leaders Stand With Hotel Workers During Passover & Holy Week

by Rev. Israel Alvaran


During this holy season of Passover for the Jewish community, and Maundy Thursday for Christians, the Bay Area community sent a powerful message to the Hyatt corporation on Thursday, holding them accountable for stalling on signing a contract with its workers in San Francisco, workplace injuries, and denying its non-union workers a fair process for them to choose a union throughout the Bay Area.

In San Francisco, with the sound of Buddhist bells and the dramatic sight of workers and clergy carrying heavy mattresses in lieu of a cross – symbolizing carrying each other’s burdens – over 100 workers, community leaders, and clergy from different religious traditions walked in silence through downtown San Francisco in support of local hotel workers fighting for a fair contract and affordable health care.