About 10,000 Hotel Workers Walk Off the Job on Labor Day Weekend
The workers' union, UNITE HERE, has organized a rolling strike across several cities, including Boston, San Francisco, and Seattle, in response to stalled contract negotiations.
On Sunday, around 10,000 hotel workers in cities such as San Francisco, Seattle, and Boston initiated a strike, aiming to disrupt Labor Day weekend travel after contract negotiations between their union and some of the nation’s largest hotel companies failed to reach an agreement.
According to UNITE HERE, the union, workers were striking at various Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton hotels, along with one Fairmont property, in eight cities across the U.S.: Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, San Jose, Honolulu, Kauai, San Diego, and Greenwich. The striking employees spread across 24 hotels, included front desk staff, housekeepers, and other workers.
In a news release, UNITE HERE also announced that strikes had been authorized in Baltimore, New Haven, Oakland, and Providence, with the potential to begin "at any time."
The union stated that the strikes in each city are expected to last two to three days, coinciding with the long weekend that marks the unofficial end of the busy summer travel season.
Employees of Hilton Boston Park Plaza went on strike on Sunday. The UNITE HERE union said it was planning rolling strikes in several cities for two to three days per city.
The union is advocating for higher wages and the reversal of pandemic-era service and staffing cuts. During the pandemic's peak, the leisure and hospitality industry, including hotels, laid off millions of workers due to travel restrictions and a decline in consumer spending on services. Although employment in the sector has rebounded with the resurgence of travel, some hotels have maintained adjustments, such as reduced daily housekeeping, made during the pandemic.
“We won’t accept a ‘new normal’ where hotel companies profit by cutting services for guests and abandoning their commitments to workers,” said Gwen Mills, international president of UNITE HERE, emphasizing that many workers still struggle to earn enough to support their families.
Michael D’Angelo, Hyatt’s head of labor relations for the Americas, expressed disappointment that UNITE HERE chose to strike while Hyatt remains open to negotiations. He noted that the company has contingency plans to minimize the strike’s impact.
A Hilton spokesperson reiterated the company's commitment to negotiating in good faith to reach fair agreements, adding that Hilton hotels have contingency plans to ensure smooth operations for customers.
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