Hotel Workers Strike in Boston and Greenwich
More Cities Could Announce Strikes as Hotel Workers Walk Off the Job During Busy Labor Day Weekend
Boston, Mass. — Around 1,070 hotel workers have walked off the job in Boston and Greenwich, Conn., and more cities could soon announce strikes after months of unresolved negotiations. The strikes in Boston and Greenwich will last three days. Strikes have also been authorized and could begin at any time in Baltimore, Honolulu, Kauai, New Haven, Oakland, Providence, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle.
“I’m on strike because I need higher wages. I currently have two jobs, and I work about 65 hours a week,” said Daniela Campusano, a housekeeper at Hilton’s Hampton Inn & Homewood Suites Boston Seaport for twelve years. “Everything is so expensive now – all my monthly bills have increased, and I need to earn more money so I can help my daughter pay for her university studies. One job should be enough.”
Workers are calling for higher wages, fair staffing and workloads, and the reversal of COVID-era cuts. They say their wages aren’t enough to cover the cost of living, and many have to work two jobs to make ends meet. The union says that many hotels took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to cut staffing and guest services that were never restored, causing workers to lose jobs and income – and creating painful working conditions for those who carry the increased workload.
Room rates are at record highs, and the U.S. hotel industry made over $100 billion in gross operating profit in 2022. But hotel staffing per occupied room was down 13% from 2019 to 2022 as many hotels maintained COVID-era cuts, including understaffing, ending automatic daily housekeeping, and removing food and beverage options.
“I’m on strike because I need more wages, I need the health insurance, and I need less rooms,” said Rebeca Laroque, a housekeeper at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich for 12 years. “I work so hard and come home exhausted at the end of the day, but I still don’t make enough money to pay my bills. Going on strike is a huge sacrifice, but it’s something I have to do because I need a better life for me and my two kids.”
The union urges guests not to eat, sleep, or meet at any hotel that is on strike or where workers have been on strike until they secure a new contract. Hotels may suspend services while trying to operate with skeleton staffing, and picket lines will run outside struck hotels for up to 24 hours a day. Guests are encouraged to consult the union’s travel guide and use its Labor Dispute Map, where they can search hotels by name or city to learn whether a hotel is on strike and find alternatives.
“We’re on strike because the hotel industry has gotten off track,” said Gwen Mills, International President of UNITE HERE. “During COVID, everyone suffered, but now the hotel industry is making record profits while workers and guests are left behind. Too many hotels still haven’t restored standard services that guests deserve, like automatic daily housekeeping and room service. Workers aren’t making enough to support their families. Many can no longer afford to live in the cities that they welcome guests to, and painful workloads are breaking their bodies. We won’t accept a ‘new normal’ where hotel companies profit by cutting their offerings to guests and abandoning their commitments to workers.”
Last year, UNITE HERE members won record contracts after rolling strikes at Los Angeles hotels and a 47-day strike at Detroit casinos.