Statement of Lucero Santes Vazquez

Name: Lucero Santes Vazquez
Age: 20

STATEMENT:

My name is Lucero Santes Vazquez and I am a 20-year-old Latina woman from Mexico living in New York City. I began employment at the Broadway Plaza Hotel when I was 17.

During my first year at the hotel, I worked seven days a week and was frequently forced to work extra hours without overtime. In addition, there was always a little money missing when Mr. Ramirez gave me my weekly salary.

Even though I was hired to clean rooms, Mr. Ramirez ordered me to paint rooms (without a mask), move furniture, and remove old carpets. He made me move furniture even after I told him I was pregnant. I had to do this work because Mr. Ramirez did not want to hire men, whom he would have to pay more to do the work. Mr. Ramirez also took me to clean corridors in the hotel owner’s apartment buildings during my regular work hours.

Mr. Ramirez regularly insulted and belittled the female employees. We were not allowed to eat, drink water, or use the bathroom while at the hotel. He told us we were there to work, not to eat. If he caught any of us with food, he would take it away and curse at us.

Like the other housekeepers, I was also sexually harassed by Mr. Ramirez. He gave unwanted attention to us, sometimes touching us in inappropriate ways. He was always looking for sexual favors from us and would yell sexually explicit epithets at us on a daily basis.

Because of these hostile conditions, I felt that I had no choice but to stop working at the Broadway Plaza Hotel. I am filing this suit because I do not want other women to have to experience the same abuse that I and the other housekeepers have endured.