Thousands of hotel workers are on strike

Workers in nine of the 12 cities are on strike, all but one starting Sunday. A UNITE HERE tracker updated Monday morning showed that 5,000 UNITE HERE members in Honolulu, nearly 2,100 in San Francisco and more than 900 in Boston were on strike.

“We wouldn’t have a day to rest, relax and enjoy the fruits of the labor movement if our union predecessors hadn’t stood up to fight for them – but that fight isn’t over,” Gwen Mills, President international UNITE HERE, said in a statement. “This year, hotel workers across the U.S. are celebrating Labor Day fighting for raises, fair work and the reversal of COVID-era service and layoffs.”

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the leisure and hospitality industry took much longer than the overall US labor market to exceed the number of jobs seen in February 2020, after the US saw major job losses work during the pandemic.

Job growth was fairly subdued in leisure and hospitality, and the industry saw a small decline in employment in January and April. However, the overall job market has been colder and it may be more difficult to get a job now than it was a few years ago.

Mills said the workers were on strike because “the hotel industry has taken to the streets.”

“During COVID, everyone suffered, but now the hotel industry is making record profits while workers and guests are being left behind,” Mills said. “Too many hotels have yet to restore the standard services that guests deserve, such as automatic daily housekeeping and room service.”

Mills noted how what hospitality workers do affects the spending of workers and their households.

“Workers aren’t making enough to support their families,” Mills said. “Many can no longer afford to live in the cities where they welcome their guests, and the painful labors are destroying their bodies. We will not accept a ‘new normal’ where hotel companies profit by cutting offers for guests and reneging on their commitments to workers.”

The union’s hotel tracking system shows the striking workers are from the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston or other Hyatt, Marriott and Hilton locations. That includes workers from seven hotels in Honolulu, four in Boston and five in San Francisco. In total, the workers make up 25 hotels.

“Our colleagues are the heart of our business, and Hyatt has a long history of cooperation with the unions that represent our employees, including UNITE HERE,” Michael D’Angelo, Hyatt’s head of labor relations for the Americas, said in a statement. “We are disappointed that UNITE HERE has chosen to strike, while Hyatt remains willing to continue negotiations in good faith.

“We have a history of providing competitive wages and benefits in every market, including comprehensive health care at little or no cost, as well as retirement savings,” D’Angelo added. “We have offered competitive wages, health care and retirement benefits at the hotels that are on strike right now, and co-workers’ benefits and wages remain unchanged as we negotiate a new agreement. We look forward to continuing to negotiate fair contracts and recognize contributions. of Hyatt employees”.

According to the UNITE HERE tracker, the striking workers are from four Hyatt locations.

“Hyatt hotels have contingency plans in place to minimize the impact on hotel operations related to strike activity,” D’Angelo said.

Workers at several different Hilton locations, such as workers at one location in San Diego, are on strike.

“Hilton makes every effort to maintain a cooperative and productive relationship with the unions that represent some of our team members, and we remain committed to negotiating in good faith to reach fair and reasonable agreements that are beneficial to both our team members, as well as for our members. hotels,” a Hilton spokesperson said. “We are also fully committed to providing our guests with our hospitality, and our hotels have contingency plans in place to ensure operations continue to run as smoothly as possible.”

The strike dates include September 1 to September 3, except for Seattle and San Diego, which have strike dates listed as September 1 to September 2, and Baltimore, where workers began striking on Monday. 200 UNITE HERE members are on strike in Baltimore, working for the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor.

“Strikes have also been authorized and could begin at any time in New Haven, Oakland and Providence,” according to a Sept. 2 press release from UNITE HERE.

Marriott and Fairmont Copley Plaza did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.