Hundreds of demonstrators descended upon the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Indianapolis Thursday afternoon, in protest of low wages and unfair treatment — an event that culminated in the peaceable arrests of at least 40 people.

The protest was part of a coordinated effort in 17 North American cities to draw attention to the labor concerns of Hyatt employees nationwide.

Organizers for Unite Here, a local hotel workers union, said Hyatt had slashed jobs, cut workers' hours and cut corners at its hotels across the country, "lock(ing) workers into recession even as the the economy rebounds." Indianapolis taxpayers, the group claimed, have invested $1 billion in the hospitatlity industry, while lcoal hotel workers are "among the lowest paid hotel workers of any major city in the United States."

Jessie Ham, a cocktail server at the downtown Hyatt for over two years noted that, although Hyatt has used the recession as an excuse for cutbacks, the company's owners are doing fine.

"The reality of the company is that the owners do very, very well for themselves," Ham said. As recently as last November, Hyatt's owners, the Pritzker family, took the company public, netting the corporation over a $1 billion.

"To say they don't have the money, it kind of makes you wonder where it's all going," she said. "They're basically trying to use the recession as an excuse to keep us all in a recession."

Ham also claimed the hotel had used "intimidation, harassment and surveillance" tactics to prevent workers from organizing. "They've strong-armed people not to stand up for themselves," she said.

Jackie White, a housekeeping employee who has worked at the downtown Hyatt for 29 years, said that the quality of service at the Hyatt had "changed drastically."

She pointed specifically to lack of cleanliness in the hallways, reduced services, rising safety concerns, and increased workloads on housekeepers, whose workloads had nearly doubled in recent years.

"We definitely want to be ready for the Superbowl" in 2012, she said. "We want the best for everyone who wants to come stay in the Hyatt and in any hotel downtown."

Demonstrators faced soaring temperatures and withering humidity for several hours, waving signs, handing out fliers and shouting slogans like "Hyatt, Hyatt, enough is enough!" and "Yes, we can!"

But the climax arrived when roughly 40 demonstrators marched to the sidewalk in front of the Hyatt, linked arms and sat down, effectively blocking sidewalk traffic in a coordinated act of civil disobedience. Police, who were intimately familiar with the details of the protest ahead of time, waited in the wings.

After about 20 minutes, police issued a verbal warning. The seated protesters were then individually asked to leave, then led away one-by-one, placed in handcuffs, and shut in the back of a police van.

Overall, the scene was spirited, and emotions intense. But the arrests were anticipated, organized and peaceful.

Lieut. Jeff Duhamell, a police spokesman on the scene, said that locals from the nine counties of the Greater Indianapolis Area would not be officially arraigned or incarcerated, but would be given summons to appear in court.

Those who resisted, were arrested without proper identification, or who lived outside the area would most likely be incarcerated for at least several hours, he said. The 40 or more arrested would face Class B misdemeanor charges, Duhammel said, which could result in fines. Demonstrators had been informed of the conditions ahead of time.

None of the protesters was led away with handcuffs, but each was cuffed for the ride in the paddy wagon as a matter of procedure, Duhammel explained.

Several officers were equipped with miniature Kodak video recorders. One officer explained they had been given the recorders before the Black Expo — to make sure those filming the scene were in turn being filmed.

Thursday's protest began on the southern steps of the Indiana State House, where demonstrators gathered to hear speeches and pass out protest placards, stickers and literature, before marching across the street to the Hyatt.

City-County Council minority leader Joanne Sanders showed up at the statehouse steps to take a turn at the megaphone.

"This is the United states of America, where our Constitution allows us to organize in a a concerted effort to stand up for better working conditions," Sanders said. She expressed concern for the burden cutbacks at Hyatt and other such employers placed on local taxpayers.

"Every time Hyatt cuts hours, the tax payers have to subsidize it," she said, by pushing workers onto unemployment rolls, and by refusing to offer decent benefits, thereby driving employees to hospitals like Wishard for emergency treatment, which are taxpayer supported. "These employers are draining the life's blood of our communities."

Several religious leaders were also on hand to show their support. Pastor Richard Willoughby, of Promise Land Christian Community Church on the city's near northwest side, was among those who spoke to the crowd.

"No one can put their foot on you you unless you bend over and allow that to happen," he shouted.

Another, the Rev. Abraham Peterson, sat down among those linked arm-in-arm on the sidewalk, sweat beading on his forehead, seeming to tremble with intensity. He was carted off in a police van like the others.

Passing cars honked in support. Faces peered from windows of neighboring office buildings. Hotel managers at the Hyatt paced the pavement in the valet area behind the protesters. Once commence, the arrests took roughly an hour.

"We'll be back!" protesters chanted when the last was paraded away.