Former Signature Room workers want any future tenant in space to rehire them
Irene Luna, a pastry cook who worked at the Signature Room for 29 years, speaks outside the offices of PGIM, the owners of the space on the 95th and 96th floors of the John Hancock Building where the Signature Room and Lounge was located.
Unite Here Local 1
Workers of the now-shuttered Signature Room want whoever moves into the restaurant’s former space at the top of the former John Hancock building to hire them back.
They held a rally Tuesday outside the Loop offices of PGIM, which owns the space, and delivered a petition signed by 1,000 people stating that they will not patronize the location unless its original workers are offered their jobs back, Unite Here Local 1 said in a news release.
“I loved helping people create memories and celebrate milestones. We deserve to have the chance to return to work in the space when it re-opens and bring back the spirit that made the Signature Room special,” Bob Sorenson, who worked as a server for 25 years at the Signature Room, said in a statement.
PGIM is the global asset management business of Prudential Financial Inc.
Unite Here Local 1 represents 132 former Signature Room workers. In October, the union filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board claiming owners failed to provide workers an opportunity to bargain over the effects of the closure.
The union has also filed a federal lawsuit saying owners failed to give workers adequate notice of their job losses.
The Signature Room, which was at the top of the former John Hancock Center, announced its closure on Sept. 28, effective immediately. Workers have said they were informed of the closure that same morning with a 6 a.m. email.
“Today, the Signature Room staff and the broader community sent a clear message that these dedicated workers deserve the chance to return to their jobs when the space re-opens,” said Karen Kent, president of Unite Here Local 1. “To whoever the new operator in the Signature Room space may be, we urge you to embody the true spirit of Chicago hospitality and welcome these workers back to what was once their second home.”