Citing lack of meaningful movement from Hilton, strike will continue until October 12

After 19 days on strike, and only days after calling for an audit of the Houston First Corporation, the owner of the Hilton Americas, workers announced they will continue their strike of the hotel until October 12 at 12:00 am. The historic strike began on Labor Day September 1 and was extended once previously. While negotiations continue, workers said Hilton has not come to the table with the raises that workers need to survive in Houston.

“I’ve been with this company for over 21 years. It’s a constant struggle to cover the cost of my utilities and pay for food, all while I’m paying off medical bills. My husband recently had two strokes, so I work to provide for both of us, and it’s been hard. I’m on strike fighting for a living wage so that I don’t have to worry about whether I can afford for my husband to be taken care of, or if we can afford to pay his medical bills, or if we can even keep the lights on,” said Lashay Hampton, Laundry Attendant at Hilton Americas.

“I put my all into this business, sometimes doing the job of two people by myself. We are the faces of the hotel, we are Houston. I want Hilton to show me the respect and appreciation I deserve. They are only worried about their bottom line. Not me, not us,” said Carla Mayfield, a Cafeteria Attendant at Hilton Americas for 17 years.

“This strike is becoming a defining moment for the city of Houston and whether or not it will be a city that working people can survive in. The workers at the Hilton Americas may be the first hospitality workers to go on strike in Houston, but they will not be the last as long as corporate owners ignore the needs of the staff that run their businesses. We call on Hilton and Houston First to get serious and end this strike with a deal that workers can live with,” said UNITE HERE Local 23 Secretary Treasurer Willy Gonzalez.

Workers are calling for higher wages of at least $23 an hour in a new union contract. Hilton workers’ contract expired on June 30, and they have been in bargaining with the company since June. In addition to fair wages, Hilton workers are fighting for fair schedules, fair workloads, and respect.

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UNITE HERE Local 23 represents 28,000 hospitality workers from universities and museums to airport concessions, hotel and parking attendants. Local 23 members are active in Georgia, Mississippi, Charlotte, Nashville, DC, Boise, Indiana, Denver, New Orleans, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Virginia.