UNITE HERE Connecticut is calling on elected officials to support Senate Bill 8 and House Bill 6904, which would make striking workers eligible for unemployment benefits after two weeks on strike. These bills would encourage all employers to negotiate contracts in good faith, and allow workers to defend their rights as union members. Billionaires shouldn’t line their pockets while workers struggle!
In a major upset, Betty Martinez Franco, a former hotel housekeeper, won a special election for Irvine City Council District 5. Betty ran on an progressive, pro-worker platform that celebrated her personal history as a former Disneyland housekeeper. UNITE HERE Local 11 members called, texted, and knocked doors to support her campaign. Her victory points to a backlash against national Republican policies and can be a model of how to win swing districts to fight back against Trump!
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an apprentice with Sheet Metal Air Rail and Transportation (SMART) Workers Local 100, was deported in late March due to “an administrative error,” even though he has protected status. Despite a federal judge and Supreme Court order, he still hasn’t come home to his family.
Tens of thousands of UNITE HERE members are immigrants like Kilmar. We stand with him, his family, and his union in the call to bring Kilmar home. We’ll keep fighting to hold this administration accountable and to ensure that the basic rights of our immigrant members and the civil liberties of everyone living and working in our country are respected.
Sign the petition: Bring Our SMART Local 100 Brother Home and Give Him Due Process
At a Hospitality Workers Summit on April 23, Local 23 members, UNITE HERE Secretary-Treasurer Nia Winston, and members of the Houston City Council met to discuss the need for a $23 wage in Houston, which welcomed a record 54 million visitors in 2024. Instead of reaping the benefits of this travel boom, workers at the Hilton Americas, Marriott Marquis, Convention Center, and IAH Airport—all major properties with public investment—report struggling to pay their bills.
“Right now, I’m making $16.50 an hour and it’s a struggle to cover the cost of everyday living expenses and healthcare,” said Micaela Hernandez, a houseperson at the Marriott Marquis.” I have four kids and am fighting for a living wage so I can better provide for their futures.”
10,000 UNITE HERE members working at airline caterer LSG Sky Chefs are ramping up the fight for their new contract! In mid-April, just days before a national mediation session with the company, workers from coast to coast took action to tell the company that it’s time for them to get serious. Sky Chefs workers deserve fair wages, benefits, and respect!
In 2024, Boston’s Fenway Park—home of the Red Sox—raked in $574 million. Despite this, concessions workers working there for Aramark make less than $20 per hour. UNITE HERE Local 26 members at Fenway Park and MGM Music Hall at Fenway are fighting for a fair contract with fair wages, respect, and an end to automation!
“I take pride in what I do. No matter how you slice it up, dice it up, we’re a part of the team, and we deserve more money.” -Fenway Park grill cook and Local 26 member Dewayne Jones.
On March 25, we commemorated the 146 lives lost in the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. The fire was one of the worst workplace disasters since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. It took the lives of 146 young immigrant garment workers, many of them members of one of our predecessor unions, the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union. It also galvanized a reform movement to raise standards for workers.
“Each year, we commemorate the workers killed in the Triangle Fire. Most of them were young, immigrant women, and some were leaders in the fight to improve their working conditions. We are continually inspired in our work by the transformation that began with their ultimate sacrifice. After the tragedy, their unions fought to organize the garment industry and establish health and safety laws that are still important for working people today. While the deaths of the Triangle victims were preventable, their legacy lives on.” —UNITE HERE President Gwen Mills
Visit the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Commemoration page >>
Throughout history, women have organized for equality by challenging discrimination and pushing for workers’ rights. Women workers have led the labor movement as we fight for fair wages, equal rights, and better working conditions.
During Women’s History Month, and every day of the year, UNITE HERE is committed to investing in women leaders in the workforce, on our staff, and in our communities as we continue to fight for gender equity and justice for all our members.
Visit UNITE HERE’s instagram to read some of their stories.
For 12 days last month, Compass workers at Northwestern University made history with the first-ever strike of food service and hospitality workers at Northwestern! The UNITE HERE Local 1 members are fighting for a fair contract with family-sustaining wages and a pension that ensures they can retire with dignity.
As the campus began its spring break recess, the strike went on pause, but workers could resume their strike at any time! The fight for a fair contract continues…
Hear Local 1 member Melissa Watkins share what the strike meant to her >>
Hotel and Gaming Trades members at two NYC-area workplaces have won new union contracts! At the Lotos Club in Manhattan, workers (pictured above) unanimously ratified a new contract that provides seven years of job security, guaranteed wage increases, and quality family health coverage. “Together, we secured the highest annual wage increase in the history of our club,” said Mohammed Miah, a union member of 25 years. “We couldn’t be more proud.”
Across the Hudson River in Newark, workers at the Hampton Inn Newark Airport also voted 100% YES to ratify their new contract, which will see wages rise by 35% on average over the life of the contract. “When I saw how much my wages will be going up, I couldn’t stop smiling,” said Room Attendant Angelina Rivera. Congratulations!!
UNITE HERE represents workers throughout the United States and Canada.