10K unionized hotel workers hold strikes across multiple cities, demand higher wages, increased staffing
More than 10,000 unionized hotel workers at hotels in multiple cities are currently participating in strikes.
The thousands of Hyatt, Hilton and Marriott hotel workers conducting the strikes belong to Unite Here, according to the labor union.
They want "higher wages, fair staffing and workloads, and the reversal of COVID-era cuts" from the hotel companies, Unite Here said in a Monday press release.
For some of the unionized hotel workers, Labor Day marked the second day of demonstrations, per the union. Others began their strikes Monday morning.
In total, more than two dozen hotels in Baltimore, Boston, Greenwich, Honolulu, Kauai, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle had been hit by strikes as of Monday morning, according to Unite Here.
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Seattle, Boston and San Francisco were among the U.S. cities that AAA expected to be most popular for Labor Day weekend trips this year.
The strikes will run through Wednesday in many locations. In the meantime, Unite Here said picket lines "will run outside struck hotels for up to 24 hours a day."
Unite Here International President Gwen Mills has accused the hotel industry of having gotten "off track."
"During COVID, everyone suffered, but now the hotel industry is making record profits while workers and guests are left behind. Too many hotels still haven’t restored standard services that guests deserve, like automatic daily housekeeping and room service," Mills said Sunday.
The COVID-19 pandemic cuts left some hotel workers without jobs and caused "painful working conditions for those who carry the increased workload," Unite Here argued.
Just days prior to the Labor Day strikes the hotel workers voted in favor of such action. The negotiations between the unionized workers and hotels have been going on for months.
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"We are disappointed that UNITE HERE has chosen to strike while Hyatt remains willing to continue bargaining in good faith," Hyatt Americas Head of Labor Relations Michael D’Angelo said in a statement to FOX Business. "We have a history of offering competitive wages and benefits in each market, including comprehensive health care at little to no cost, as well as retirement savings. We have offered competitive wages, health care and retirement benefits at the hotels that are on strike at this time, and colleague benefits and wages remain unchanged as we negotiate a new agreement."
The hotel chain has "contingency plans in place to minimize impact on hotel operations related to strike activity," he also said.
"Hilton makes every effort to maintain a cooperative and productive relationship with the unions that represent some of our Team Members," a Hilton spokesperson told FOX Business. "We remain committed to negotiating in good faith to reach fair and reasonable agreements that are beneficial to both our valued Team Members and to our hotels."
FOX Business also reached out to Marriott for comment on the Labor Day strikes.
Unite Here called on guests "not to eat, sleep, or meet" at hotels where the unionized workers are conducting strikes during the holiday weekend.
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Labor Day, which falls on the first Monday of September each year, has been recognized as a federal holiday since the 1890s, according to the Department of Labor.
In 2023, some 372,000 people in the leisure and hospitality industries were members of unions, according to government data. That included 216,000 in the industry’s accommodation and food service segments.