After Months of Unproductive Contract Negotiations, Union Announces Strike of Men-Only 'Disneyland for the 1%' in Downtown San Francisco

San Francisco, CA – On Thursday morning at 5am, UNITE HERE hotel workers went on strike at the infamous men-only Bohemian Club hotel in downtown San Francisco following months of failure from management to address worker concerns in contract negotiations. The strike, occurring over two days, was authorized with a 93% strike vote by Bohemian Club workers, who are largely immigrants and people of color.

“UNITE HERE Local 2 members are unwilling to allow the political elites who make up the Bohemian Club to continue treating them as second class citizens at work,” said Anand Singh, President of Local 2.  “This strike is about winning dignity for the immigrant workers who are the backbone of a private club that treats them as second class citizens while functioning as a men-only Disneyland for the ultra-rich. UNITE HERE is a union that strikes, and the 12,000 workers Local 2 represents have put the Bohemian Club on notice that neither our union nor our city will allow them or their billionaire members to exploit working families.”

The Bohemian Club is an organization for right wing political elites, whose past and present membership includes the Koch brothers, Henry Kissinger, and George W. Bush. UNITE HERE Local 2 has been its workers’ representative, and has been in a lengthy contract dispute with management over issues including inadequate wages and compensation, a lack of healthcare security, and rampant union-busting attempts by management. Multiple aggressive strike actions will be executed by Local 2 over the next two days, including an ongoing strike picket line at the downtown Club at 624 Taylor Street and worker actions appealing directly to some of the most prominent Bohemian Club members in San Francisco.

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UNITE HERE Local 2 represents 12,000 members working in the hotel, gaming, food service, and airport industries in San Francisco. Learn more at www.unitehere2.org