Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on August 21, 2024.
Anna Roseladen | Getty Images
About 10,000 U.S. hotel workers began a multi-day strike in several cities on Sunday following contract negotiations with hotel operators. Marriott International Hotel, Hilton Worldwide and Hyatt Regency The United Here union said the campaign had stalled.
Unite Here, which represents hotel, casino and airport workers in the United States and Canada, said thousands of employees are on strike at 24 hotels in some major tourist destinations including San Francisco and San Diego, California, the capital of Hawaii, Honolulu, and Boston. Workers from other cities are preparing to go on strike as the Labor Day holiday weekend continues.
The strike comes as the industry faces a 9% increase in domestic travel over the Labor Day weekend compared with last year, according to AAA booking data.
“Strikes have also been authorized and could begin at any time” in Baltimore, New Haven, Oakland and Providence, the union said in a statement, as hotel workers and operators work to negotiate wages and reverse pandemic-era economic growth. An agreement was reached on layoffs.
According to the union, hotel staff are already stretched thin, with management often assigning three employees to do the work of four. This can lead to undue stress and a focus on speed rather than service.
The union quoted a staff member at the San Francisco Marriott Palace Hotel as saying: “Since COVID-19, they expect us to provide five-star service with three-star employees.”
Hotel housekeepers in Baltimore are trying to raise their wages to $20 an hour from the current $16.20 an hour. In Boston, housekeepers make $28 an hour, and the union wants a $10-an-hour raise by the end of four years.
Hilton and Hyatt said they remain committed to negotiating a fair agreement with the union.
Michael D’Angelo, director of labor relations for the luxury hotel chain, said in a statement that Hyatt has contingency plans in place to minimize the impact of potential strike activity on hotel operations.
Marriott did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
The strike comes as 40,000 Unite Here hotel staff in 20 cities face the end of their contracts this year. Negotiations for a new four-year contract have been ongoing since May, with some 15,000 workers authorizing strikes in 12 markets.
“We will not accept the ‘new normal’ in which hotel companies profit by cutting services to guests and abandoning their commitment to employees,” Unite Here President Gwen Mills said, demanding a better deal.
The union is urging travelers to cancel hotel stays if workers strike and is demanding penalty-free refunds.
In 2023, Unite Here workers won record contracts after rolling strikes in Los Angeles and a 47-day strike in Detroit.
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