Thousands of hotel workers in a dozen U.S. cities are preparing to go on strike as early as Labor Day weekend as they battle for new contracts with major hotel companies. Roughly 15,000 workers who are members of the union Unite Here have voted to authorize strikes against Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Omni properties. The union is warning travelers to be ready to encounter picket lines in the coming weeks, and possibly over the holiday weekend. Unite Here, which represents 265,000 workers in the U.S., says this is the first time hotel workers in so many different cities have given the green light to strike simultaneously. The cities where workers may walk off the job are Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; Greenwich and New Haven, Connecticut; Honolulu and Kauai, Hawaii; Providence, Rhode Island; Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose, California; and Seattle, Washington.
The demands of the union include significant raises for housekeepers, food-service workers, and other members, along with measures to limit their workloads. Staffing levels are also an issue, as many hotels have cut back on services like daily housekeeping during the pandemic, making jobs less stable and harder to survive on. Gwen Mills, president of Unite Here, stated that the industry had largely recovered from the pandemic but was trying to make long-term cuts that could permanently change hotel work. She emphasized that workers are willing to do what it takes to get the economic standards they deserve. Contracts have already expired at most of the hotels in question, and the remaining ones are set to expire soon. Strikes could start anytime thereafter. Last year, hotel workers in California went on strike, and now the work stoppages could hit East Coast cities as well.
Michael D’Angelo, head of labor relations at Hyatt, expressed optimism in reaching fair agreements without strikes, stating that employees are the heart of their business and that the company has contingency plans in place in case of work stoppages. Other major hotel companies like Hilton, Marriott, and Omni did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lining up so many workers to strike at different properties could give the union more leverage, allowing them to play different hotel operators off one another as they bargain at the same time. Last year, Unite Here negotiated dozens of new contracts at hotels in California, carrying out rolling strikes where workers walked off temporarily at different hotels, making the work stoppages unpredictable for management.
To prepare for widespread strikes, the union has created a strike guide and map for travelers, asking them to cancel reservations and demand refunds if workers are holding picket lines. The guide states that hotel workers are at a breaking point, with wages not enough to support families and workloads harder and more painful than ever. The union is emphasizing the importance of fair contracts for workers in the hospitality industry, particularly as the industry recovers from the pandemic. With contracts already expired or set to expire soon, hotel workers are gearing up for a potential strike that could impact multiple cities across the U.S. The union is firm in its demands for better wages, workload limits, and stable working conditions, signaling their readiness to take action to achieve these goals.
