US hotel vacations disrupted as 10,000 workers strike By Reuters

By Andrew Hay

(Reuters) – Dozens of U.S. hotels faced disruption during Monday’s busy Labor Day holiday as more than 10,000 workers went on strike after contract negotiations stalled, workers and the Unite Here union said.

Wearing red shirts and buckets, Unite Here members picketed outside Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels (NYSE: ) and Marriott International (NASDAQ: ) locations from Honolulu, Hawaii to Boston, Massachusetts to demand higher wages.

The strike comes as the industry sees a 9 percent increase in domestic travel over the Labor Day weekend over last year, according to American Automobile Association reservation data.

In calls to hotels in Hawaii, Boston and San Jose, Calif., front desk staff said services such as restaurants and housekeeping were disrupted due to a lack of workers on the second day of the strike.

“The hotel is open but very limited,” said an employee at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, who asked that her name not be used because she was not authorized to speak to the media.

Hyatt has contingency plans in place to minimize the impact on operations related to the strike, Michael D’Angelo, the hotel chain’s head of labor relations, said in a statement.

Hilton and Hyatt said they remain committed to negotiating a fair deal with the union.

Marriott did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Unite Here said workers were on strike at 25 hotels in nine US cities, with the stoppage expected to last up to three days.

“Hotel workers across the U.S. are celebrating Labor Day fighting for raises, fair work, and the reversal of service and cutbacks in the COVID era,” Unite Here International President Gwen Mills said in a statement.

Workers say wages do not cover living costs and hotels have not restored staffing levels reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the statement said.

Unite Here members won record contracts last year after strikes in Los Angeles and a 47-day strike at Detroit casinos, according to the union that represents hotel, casino and airport workers in the United States and Canada.