More Hotel Workers Strike, Others Settle Contracts as Strikes Continue to Roil U.S. Hotel Industry
Widespread Strikes Continue in Major U.S. Travel Destinations
San Francisco, Calif. – Hundreds of Marriott hotel workers walked off the job in San Francisco on Friday and Sunday as strikes continued to roil the hotel industry for the seventh consecutive week. Around 2,000 San Francisco hotel workers are now on strike – including at the iconic Palace Hotel, known for its Beaux-Arts architecture – and a total of over 4,400 Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott hotel workers are on strike nationwide.
After a week on strike, 685 Omni Hotel workers in Boston settled a new contract with raises and affordable health care, which the union said set an important standard for other hotel chains. Over 600 Hilton workers remain on strike in Boston.
More strikes are possible across the U.S., and the union has urged hotels to notify guests of strike activity; the labor disputes have disrupted hotel operations and led to guest complaints and demands for refunds.
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.
“Hotel workers are on the move, and we’re not stopping anytime soon,” said Gwen Mills, International President of UNITE HERE. “Our members believe that hotel jobs should be genuinely good, family-sustaining jobs that don’t break your body and that enable you to live with dignity. Our recent contract settlements prove that that’s possible, and strikes will continue until we all win.”
“I’m on strike to protect my health care and the other benefits we’ve fought hard for over the years,” said Edwin Santos, a cook at Marriott’s Palace Hotel in San Francisco, where workers yesterday walked off the job on strike. “The cost of living is already high, and we can’t afford to backslide. We’re going to stay strong on the picket line because we refuse to go backwards.”
“For me, the most important aspect of this new contract is that everyone will get meaningful raises,” said James “Smitty” Smith, a banquet server at the Omni Parker House in Boston, where workers yesterday concluded their strike after ratifying a new contract. “I’m glad that Omni came to the table in good faith, and we finally reached an agreement. But we’re not done until we’re all done, in Boston and everywhere else.”
After months of contract negotiations, over 10,000 hotel workers across the U.S. have gone on strike since Labor Day weekend. Hotel workers in Boston, Mass., Greenwich and New Haven, Conn., Providence, R.I., San Diego, Calif., and Toronto, Canada, 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. More strikes have been authorized and could begin soon in Boston, Honolulu, Kauai, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Mateo County, and Seattle.
The union urges travelers not to eat, meet, or sleep at any hotel that’s on strike. 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.