7,700 Marriott Workers Now on Strike Across USA

Detroit, MI – Today, thousands more Marriott hotel workers represented by UNITE HERE walked out on strike in two locations in Hawai’i, bringing the total number of UNITE HERE Marriott workers on strike to 7,700 nationally. Hawai’i strikers join workers who struck in days prior across Boston, San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Detroit, and San Diego.

“Today 7,700 UNITE HERE workers are on strike across Marriott hotels in eight tourism destinations across America to change the hospitality industry and demand that one job be enough to support their families,” said D. Taylor, international president of UNITE HERE. “I could not be more proud of the courage and solidarity of UNITE HERE hotel workers today, for stepping up to fight for a better life for themselves, their families, and all hotel workers across the industry. Marriott is the richest and most profitable hotel company in the world, and by taking them on in this historic hotel worker strike, UNITE HERE union members are going to change the lives of all workers in our industry.”

UNITE HERE affiliates have spent months in negotiations with Marriott in cities across the country as contracts expired, but authorized strikes weeks ago after Marriott failed to make significant movement on key strike issues including providing jobs that pay enough for workers to support their families, securing job protection around automation, and workplace safety around the so-called “Green Choice” program. UNITE HERE returned to the bargaining table after authorizing the strikes over the past two weeks, but Marriott remained unwilling to make meaningful progress on central issues. Additional cities may strike Marriott at any time. Workers will be on strike until they win.

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UNITE HERE represents 270,000 members working in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, transportation, and airport industries in the U.S. and Canada. Learn more at OneJob.org.