The life of a hotel maid is not an easy one, with naked men flaunting their wares, verbal abuse, lecherous suggestions and personal hygiene standards that would shame a chimp. But thanks to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, things may be about to improve.
There are more than 10,000 hotel maids – or room attendants as they prefer to be called – in New York City. An invisible army of cleaners working for $24 (£15) an hour (if they have a union job), they rarely hit the headlines.
But their work was thrust into the spotlight after the alleged attack by theformer head of the International Monetary Fund on one of their number in room 2806 of the Times Square Sofitel last month.
Politicians are calling for security checks, more cases of abuse are coming out into the open and the voices of the maids themselves are being heard.
This week, as Strauss-Kahn, hand in hand with his millionaire wife, made his way to court to plead not guilty to the charges against him, a group of maids chanted "shame, shame" to make the news around the world.
They intend to be there again when the trial begins but, in the meantime, they hope their employers and customers are learning something about what it means to be a maid in Manhattan. » | Dominic Rushe in New York | Friday, June 10, 2011
