More than 10,000 workers in 25 US hotels were on strike On Monday, they chose Labor Day weekend to emphasize their demands for higher wages, fairer workloads and a reversal of Covid-era cuts.
The Union UNITE HEREwhich represents striking housekeeping and other hospitality workers, said that 200 workers at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor recently walked out.
Almost half of the striking workers – 5,000 – are in HonoluluThousands of workers are also striking in Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego and San Jose (California). The strikes against Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt hotels are expected to last one to three days.
According to UNITE HERE, a total of 15,000 workers have voted for strikes that could soon spread to other cities, including New Haven, Connecticut; Oakland, California; and Providence, Rhode Island.
Union leader Gwen Mills says the strikes are part of long-standing struggle to ensure that service employees receive family-sustaining remuneration at the level of traditionally male-dominated industries.
“Hospitality work as a whole is undervalued and it is no coincidence that this work is disproportionately done by women and people of color,” Mills said.
Unionized housekeepers want to re-employ automatic daily room cleaning at large hotel chains struggling with unmanageable workloads or, in many cases, reduced hours and loss of income. Many hotels cut services during the coronavirus pandemic and never resumed.
However, hotels say guests no longer ask for daily room cleaning and some other services.
Michael D’Angelo, Hyatt’s director of labor relations in the Americas, said in a statement Monday that the chain has contingency plans in place to minimize the impact of the strikes on hotel operations.
“We are disappointed that UNITE HERE has chosen to strike while Hyatt remains willing to negotiate,” D’Angelo said. “We look forward to continuing to negotiate fair contracts and recognizing the contributions of Hyatt employees.”
Messages seeking comment were left with Marriott and Hilton on Monday.
