Hotel Workers Strike Across US as Labor Day Weekend Travel Booms
Tens of thousands of hotel workers across the United States walked off the job on Sunday, kicking off a multi-day strike that coincides with the peak of Labor Day weekend travel. The strike, organized by the Unite Here union, affects 24 hotels in major travel destinations like San Francisco, San Diego, Honolulu, Boston, Seattle, and Greenwich, Connecticut. Workers are demanding higher wages, improved working conditions, and the reversal of pandemic-era job cuts. The strike comes as the travel industry experiences a 9% surge in domestic travel bookings compared to last year, according to AAA booking data.
Key Takeaways:
- Thousands of hotel workers are striking across the US, targeting major hotel chains like Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt.
- The strike is timed to coincide with the peak of Labor Day weekend travel, potentially causing disruptions and impacting guest experiences.
- Workers are demanding higher wages, improved working conditions, and the reversal of pandemic-era job cuts.
- The strike is part of a larger pattern of labor unrest across the US, with hotel workers in 20 cities facing expiring contracts this year.
A Fight for Fair Wages and Working Conditions
The Unite Here union argues that hotel workers are being stretched thin, with management frequently assigning three staff members to do the job of four. This leads to undue stress and a focus on speed over service, the union claims. "Since COVID, they’re expecting us to give five-star service with three-star staff," the union quotes a staff member at Marriott’s Palace Hotel in San Francisco.
Workers are seeking significant wage increases across different cities. In Baltimore, housekeepers are fighting to bring wages up to $20 per hour from their current $16.20. In Boston, where housekeepers make $28 per hour, the union is seeking a $10 per hour raise by the end of four years.
Hotel chains are responding to the strike by claiming their commitment to fair negotiations and expressing their intention to minimize disruptions for guests. Hyatt Hotels, for example, has contingency plans in place to mitigate the impact of the strike on hotel operations. Marriott has yet to respond to a request for comment.
A Broader Labor Movement
The Unite Here union represents workers in hotels, casinos, and airports across the United States and Canada. The ongoing strike is part of a larger pattern of labor unrest across the country, with 40,000 Unite Here hotel workers across 20 cities facing expiring contracts this year. Negotiations for new four-year contracts have been taking place since May, and about 15,000 of those workers have authorized strikes in 12 markets.
"We won’t accept a ‘new normal’ where hotel companies profit by cutting their offerings to guests and abandoning their commitments to workers," Unite Here President Gwen Mills said, demanding a better deal for workers.
Potential Impact on Travel
The timing of the strike, coinciding with the peak of Labor Day weekend travel, raises concerns about potential disruptions to travelers. The union has urged travelers to cancel their hotel stays if workers are on strike and demand penalty-free refunds.
The Unite Here union’s recent successes in securing record contracts in Los Angeles following rolling strikes, and in Detroit after a 47-day strike, suggest that the union is willing to engage in protracted actions to achieve their demands.
The outcome of this strike will be closely watched by both the travel industry and the labor movement, as it holds the potential to set a precedent for future negotiations between hotel chains and workers across the country. The coming weeks will be crucial in determining whether the strike will be short-lived or escalate into a larger, potentially more impactful, labor dispute.