Subcontractor’s Marriott protests off East Campus drawing student support

For the past three months, Isaac Perez, 38, has spent almost every afternoon protesting outside the Marriott Residence Inn Durham McPherson near East Campus.

Most days, at around 5 p.m., he and his wife and six children line the block around the hotel facing West Main Street, waving signs that read “The workers that worked here didn’t get paid” and “Does justice even exist?” A few cars honk their support for the workers, but many cruise by, oblivious to the protesters.

But Perez is trying to bring more attention to his plight.

“I will not stop no matter what,” Perez said.

Perez worked on the hotel’s wallpaper this past year as a subcontractor of the Indiana-based firm SLP Enterprises. But he soon hit a roadblock when the company, Perez alleged, asked him to sign a waiver stating he would accept $5,500 instead of the additional $30,000 he was owed.

Perez refused to sign. Now Perez claims that he is owed at least $30,000 from the company on top of the $30,000 they have already paid him, and that SLP Enterprises owes more than $250,000 to at least 12 other subcontractors.

SLP Enterprises could not be reached for comment, but the company’s project manager Robert Sanchez told The News and Observer Aug. 3 that Perez’s team did not finish their work or fix their mistakes, which they were asked to do before being paid the additional $30,000.

Representatives from the Marriott Residence Inn did not respond to requests for comment.

On Sep. 11, SLP Enterprises filed a lawsuit against Perez with an Oct. 2 court date, Perez said.

Perez said the hotel has not taken any action against him but has asked him to stop protesting outside the building.

“That doesn’t scare me,” Perez said. “I’m still fine.”

Perez has also started a petition on Moveon.org. The document’s addressees include Arne Sorenson, president and CEO of Marriott International; Mark Laport, president and CEO of Concord Hospitality, the company that owns the Durham hotel as a franchise; and Richard Blaylock, district director for the U.S. Department of Labor.

As of Sunday, the petition had 3,325 signatures. The online petition lists 4,000 as the goal.

Residents of Durham are not the only ones who have taken notice of Perez’s efforts. Because of the hotel’s proximity to East Campus, the protests have captured the attention of Duke students.

Sophomore Mohamad Chamas said he met Perez in June. Now he is trying to help Perez’s efforts by getting more student involvement. He organized a protest last Friday that was rained out, but is hoping to hold another one soon.

Another student at one of Perez’s protests, sophomore Helena Janulis, noted how learning about Perez’s situation has forced her out of the “Duke bubble.”

“As Duke students, we lose sight of things that happen around us,” Janulis said. “These people are out here every single day. I’ll be worrying, ‘Oh my God, I have a test tomorrow.’ This is a wake-up call.”

Senior Santiago Bejarano met Perez on one of his routine walks from his off-campus apartment to East Campus. When he heard his story, Bejarano wanted to do more.

“I said, ‘I could probably get some friends out here with you and see what I can do to give you some social media presence,’” Bejarano said. “I’ll do what I can to help.”

Perez reached out to Bejarano for help after he found out about the lawsuit from SLP Enterprises. In response, the senior decided to organize a community and student protest on Sept. 18 outside of the hotel. He invited more than 500 people to the event on Facebook, but only 44 said they were going. Only two of Bejarano’s friends attended the actual event.

But he has hope for future protests and wants to get more on-campus groups involved.

“Next time we’ll coordinate something a little more,” Bejarano said.