Thread: NM-Employees Protest Over Request To Change Names

Employees Protest Over Request To Change Names

KOAT.com
POSTED: 6:36 pm MDT August 19, 2009

Hotel Workers Claim They Were Fired When They Refused

Some Hispanic employees at a Taos hotel say the hotel's new owner told them to change their names so they'd be easier to remember.

When the employees refused, they said they got fired.

MartÃ*n Gutierrez, a former hotel employee, said, "We were expected to change our names from Hispanic names to something more Anglo-ized and I don't think that's right."

Gutierrez said when new owners took over Taos' Paragon Inn they said his name wouldn't work and asked him to change it to Martin.

He wasn't alone.

Marcos Jeantette, another former employee, said, "My name is Marcos, and he wanted me to change it to Mark, or Bill. And I was like, that's not my name."

Both were fired from the hotel and Wednesday both took part in a protest and a boycott organized by LULAC, or The League of United Latin American Citizens.

"I don't feel like I should change my name now because we're free, this is America," Gutierrez said.

The owner confirmed he did ask employees to change their names, but he said it has nothing to do with origin, but with syllables.

Larry Whitten, owner of the Whitten Inn, said, "The shorter the better, easier to understand."

Whitten said he wants all employees in all his hotels to have one-syllable names because it helps guests identify who is helping them.

He also said he told all the workers about is policy shortly after he bought the hotel and all of them still applied to work there.

"I'd be pretty stupid to come to a predominately Spanish area and try to alienate the Spanish community," Whitten said.

He said the policy is in place at all his hotels in several states, but in none of those places did he get a reaction like this.

Protesters say they will keep up their efforts, as long as it takes to get an apology from Whitten.

http://www.koat.com/news/20468988/detail.html

Change their names? I thought only a court could do that, so I am assuming this guy was telling them that when they called in they had a nickname to go by. At least I hope that is the case.