In the May Day rallies across the U.S. and Canada, housekeepers are taking a stand for more employee fairness and wage increases in the hotel industry as it recovers from the pandemic. Unite Here, a labor union representing hospitality workers, is pushing for better working conditions for hotel staff, with about 230 union contracts up for renegotiation this year covering around 40,000 hotel workers. The key role of housekeepers in the industry is driving these rallies, with demands for respect for their work translating to a better guest experience.
Last year, negotiations in cities like Chicago led to agreements for daily room cleaning and a minimum wage of $25 per hour for staff at major hotel chains like Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt. Unite Here has organized rallies with the slogan “Respect our work, respect our guests,” highlighting the importance of the employee experience in providing quality service to guests. Rallies are set to take place in 19 towns and cities, from tourism hubs like Miami to communities like Greenwich, Connecticut, as part of the push for fair treatment of hotel workers.
While some housekeeper contracts mandate daily room cleaning, pandemic-related changes have made this less common in recent times. This has led to a heavier workload for housekeepers who have to clean dirtier rooms on days when they are cleaned less frequently. The use of more chemicals is also a concern, as hotels may give misleading excuses to guests for not cleaning rooms daily, posing risks to both the environment and the health of the cleaning staff. These issues contribute to the physical demands on housekeepers, particularly when hotels are understaffed.
The American Hotel and Lodging Association has highlighted the improving conditions for hotel employees, with wages reaching an average of $23.84 an hour in the U.S. based on preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. While wage increases have generally occurred since the pandemic, the union representatives feel that they are still not enough to keep up with inflation and the high cost of living in cities like Boston. In some cases, housekeepers may only have 30 minutes to clean a room, regardless of how long it has been since the last cleaning, due to understaffing and task overloading.
Representatives from Unite Here local unions in Boston, Toronto, and San Francisco have shared their concerns about the impact of overworking on housekeepers and the need for fair compensation. The unions are calling for higher hourly wages in line with the rising cost of living in major cities, even as the hotel industry bounces back from the pandemic. The physical demands of the job, combined with the challenges of working in understaffed environments and dealing with increased cleaning requirements post-pandemic, are driving housekeepers to participate in the May Day rallies to raise awareness about the need for better treatment and fair wages in the industry.
