Nationwide Hotel Strikes Expand in Boston with Omni Hotel Walkouts
Over 5,000 Hotel Workers Are on Strike Across the U.S., and More Strikes Could Begin at Any Time
Boston, Mass. — Nearly 700 additional Boston hotel workers went on strike today, among 5,000 hotel workers on strike nationwide as coast-to-coast labor disputes continue to impact the hotel industry. 5,060 hotel workers are on strike at Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Omni hotels across the country. The latest Boston strikes include the largest hotel in Boston and the oldest continuously operating hotel in the country, bringing the city’s total to nearly 1,300 hotel workers on strike. More strikes could begin soon.
The strikes in Boston, Honolulu, and San Francisco will continue until workers have won their contracts, and some have already lasted for weeks. The strikes in Seattle are one-week strikes that will last until the early morning of October 19.
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’m on strike because I work two jobs in order to provide for my family. I’m always rushing and I don’t even have time to see my kids. I’m missing out on my own life. It’s ridiculous that I’m living this way when the hotel companies make record profits,” said Yuri Yep, a Restaurant Server at Omni Parker House. “They can afford what we’re asking for, and we’ll be out on strike until we win for all of our families.”
“Hotel workers can see through the hotel companies’ excuses. Workers are done struggling every month while hotel companies like Omni, Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott make record profits,” said Gwen Mills, International President of UNITE HERE. “Hotel workers are in this fight for the long haul. Strikes will continue until the hotel corporations agree to contracts that have the wages, staffing and workloads we need.”
The union urges 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. Guests have 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. In one case, guests in swimsuits held a protest in the hotel lobby to demand refunds.
UNITE HERE has called on hotels to notify guests if they are booked at a hotel where workers are on strike; many guests have reported that they were not notified of raucous picket lines or service disruptions, even at hotels that have been on strike for weeks. 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. Hotel workers in Greenwich and New Haven, Conn., Providence, R.I., and San Diego, Calif., have recently ratified new union contracts that include wage increases and affordable health care, but the union cautions that strike issues are unresolved in most cities. Negotiations are ongoing and strikes issues in other cities remain unresolved; strikes have been authorized and could begin at any time in Baltimore, Honolulu, Kauai, Oakland, San Diego, Sacramento, 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 also 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.