Union members from Local 26, representing workers in the hospitality industries of Massachusetts, picket outside the Hyatt Regency Boston on July 17.
Charles Krupa/AP
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Charles Krupa/AP
Thousands of hotel workers began a multiday strike in several cities across the U.S. to press for higher wages and increased staffing after contract negotiations with major hotel chains Hyatt, Hilton and Marriott stalled.
Workers walked off the job on Sunday in 25 cities including San Francisco, Seattle, Greenwich, Conn., and Honolulu, said Unite Here, a union representing hospitality workers across North America. The strikes are planned to last between two to three days, organizers said, noting the timing of the strike happening on Labor Day. Workers in Baltimore, New Haven, Conn., Oakland, Calif., and Providence, R.I., were also prepared to joined the strike.
Workers are demanding higher wages and more staffing to ease their workload. The union says that cuts to staffing and guest services that many hotels made during the COVID-19 pandemic were never restored.
The American Hotel And Lodging Association (AHLA), the trade group representing major hotel operators, says 86% of its member hotels have increased wages and that wages for hotel workers have risen 26% since the pandemic, according to The Associated Press.
Many hotel workers say their pay doesn’t meet the cost of living, and that they have to work multiple jobs to pay the bills.
“During COVID, everyone suffered, but now the hotel industry is making record profits while workers and guests are left behind,” said Gwen Mills, international president of UNITE HERE. “Many can no longer afford to live in the cities that they welcome guests to, and painful workloads are breaking their bodies. We won’t accept a ‘new normal’ where hotel companies profit by cutting their offerings to guests and abandoning their commitments to workers.”
The hotel association AHLA says 80% of hotels report staffing shortages, while 50% cite housekeeping as their greatest hiring need.
Earlier this year, the union secured major gains for hotel workers in Southern California after months of striking that began last summer. Workers at 34 hotels won substantial pay hikes, increased employer contributions to pensions and fair workload guarantees.
In a statement, Hyatt said it remains willing to negotiate with the union. “We look forward to continuing to negotiate fair contracts and recognize the contributions of Hyatt employees,” the hotel operator said. Marriott and Hilton did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment.