U.S. Hotel Strikes Spread Coast to Coast as Hilton Workers Strike in Boston
Approx. 4,700 Hotel Workers Are on Strike Across the U.S., and More Strikes Could Begin Soon
Boston, Mass. – Around 600 Boston hotel workers walked off the job today in the latest strikes to affect the U.S. hotel industry. A total of over 4,700 hotel workers are currently on strike at Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott hotels in Boston, Honolulu, San Diego, and San Francisco. Workers in all four cities say they will strike until they win new contracts, and more strikes could begin at any time.
Workers are calling for higher wages, fair staffing and workloads, and the reversal of COVID-era cuts. They are members of the UNITE HERE union, and they include housekeepers, front desk agents, cooks, dishwashers, servers, bartenders, bellhops, doormen, and more.
“I am fighting for a raise because I currently have two jobs. I can’t make it with one. I work up to 70 hours a week,” said Theresa Fiorino, a room service cashier at the Hilton Boston Logan Airport for 29 years. “Going on strike is going to hurt me financially, but I am willing to make that sacrifice together with my co-workers. We are a team, and we are ready to show the hotel companies that we mean business.”
“My rent has gone up by more than $1,000 a month in the last two years,” said Aissata Seck, a banquet server at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza who has worked at the hotel for 17 years. “I’m driving Uber to pick up extra income so that I can pay my rent. The hotel is very busy all the time. They are making big money, but the workers are not getting any of it. That’s why we’re out here, and we’re not going back in until we win what we deserve.”
“The latest hotel strikes show workers’ determination to do whatever it takes to win,” said Gwen Mills, International President of UNITE HERE. “The hotel industry is making record profits by cutting staff and the services guests love and expect. We need wages that are enough to live on, workloads that don’t break the body, and the reversal of COVID-era cuts. We urge travelers not to eat, meet, or sleep at any hotel that’s on strike.”
Picket lines will run outside struck hotels for up to 24 hours a day, and hotels may suspend services while trying to operate with skeleton staffing. During earlier strikes, guests experienced disruptions including unavailable daily housekeeping, towels and linens piled up in hallways, piles of trash visible outside, closed bars and restaurants, and reduced pool hours. Guests are encouraged to consult the union’s travel guide and use its Labor Dispute Map at FairHotel.org, where they can search hotels by name or city to learn whether a hotel is on strike and find alternatives.
After months of contract negotiations, over 10,000 hotel workers across the U.S. went on strike on Labor Day weekend, most on limited duration strikes that ended after two or three days. More strikes followed in the subsequent weeks. Recently hotel workers in Greenwich and New Haven, Conn., and Providence, R.I., ratified new union contracts that include wage increases and more affordable health care, but the union cautions that strikes across the U.S. are expected to grow before labor disputes are resolved. Negotiations are ongoing and strike issues in other cities remain unresolved; more strikes have been authorized at additional hotels in Baltimore, Boston, Honolulu, Kauai, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Mateo County, and Seattle.
Hotel room rates are at record highs, and the U.S. hotel industry made over $100 billion in gross operating profit in 2022. But hotel workers report that their wages aren’t enough to support their families, and many have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet.
The union says that many hotels took advantage of the pandemic to cut staffing and guest services like automatic daily housekeeping and room service. Staffing per occupied room was down 13% from 2019 to 2022 as many hotels maintained COVID-era cuts, causing some workers to lose jobs and income while increased workloads cause pain and stress for others.
Last year, UNITE HERE members won record contracts after rolling strikes at Los Angeles hotels and a 47-day strike at Detroit casinos.