Written by Doyinsola Oladipo and Mrinmay Dey
NEW YORK (Reuters) – About 10,000 U.S. hotel workers began a multi-day strike in several cities on Sunday after contract negotiations with hotel workers at Marriott International (NASDAQ: ), Hilton Worldwide, and Hyatt Hotels (NYSE: ) stalled, Unite Here means union.
Unite Here, which represents workers at hotels, casinos, and airports across the United States and Canada, said thousands of workers at 24 hotels are on strike in other major tourist destinations including San Francisco and San Diego in California, Hawaii's capital, Honolulu, and Boston. , Seattle, and Greenwich, Connecticut, with workers from additional cities poised to join the trip 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 to 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 workers struggle to agree on wages and reverse job cuts during the pandemic.
Hotel workers are physically challenged, according to the union, managers often assign three workers to do the work of four. This leads to unnecessary stress and a focus on speed over service.
“Since COVID, they expect us to offer five-star and three-star employees,” the union said, citing an employee at Marriott's Palace Hotel in San Francisco.
Hotel attendants in Baltimore are fighting to bring wages up to $20 an hour from their current $16.20. In Boston, where housekeepers make $28 an hour, the union wants a $10 hourly raise at the end of four years.
Hilton and Hyatt said they are still willing to negotiate with the union for a fair deal.
Hyatt has plans in place to mitigate the impact on hotel operations related to potential strikes, Michael D'Angelo, the luxury hotel's chief of staff, said in a statement.
Marriott did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The strike comes as 40,000 hotel workers in Unite Here in 20 cities face contracts expiring this year. Negotiations for new four-year contracts have been ongoing since May, and about 15,000 of those workers have authorized strikes in 12 markets.
“We will not accept a 'new normal' where hotel companies make profits by reducing their contributions to guests and abandoning their responsibilities to employees,” said President Gwen Mills, calling for a better deal.
The union has urged travelers to cancel their hotel stays if workers strike, and demand refunds without penalty.
Unite Here workers in 2023 won recording contracts in Los Angeles following multiple strikes, and in Detroit after a 47-day strike.
