UNITE HERE Union Leads Massive Strike at Major Hotels from Boston to Hawaii Over Fair Wages

More than 10,000 hotel workers at 24 hotels across the U.S., from Boston to the West Coast and Hawaii, went on strike early Sunday morning. This strike is happening during the busy Labor Day weekend, which is causing problems for travelers. The hotels are still open, but they have very few staff, so guests won’t get full services.

The workers are part of a union called UNITE HERE. They are striking not only for better pay but also for better working conditions. One of their demands is to bring back daily room cleaning, which many hotels stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gwen Mills, the President of UNITE HERE, said the hotel industry is making record profits now, but workers and guests are being left behind. “During COVID, everyone suffered,” she said. “But now, too many hotels haven’t restored the standard services that guests deserve, and workers aren’t making enough to support their families. Many can no longer afford to live in the cities where they work.”

Workers are struggling to get by. Aissata Seck, a banquet food server at Hilton Park Plaza in Boston for 18 years, said her rent has gone up from $1,900 to $2,900 in the last five years. She said, “My pay only covers my rent.” She now drives for Uber to make ends meet.

Apple Ratanabunsrithang, a cook at Hilton Union Square in San Francisco, said she also needs to work two jobs to survive in the city. She mentioned that health care benefits are very important because hotel work is hard physical labor. Most union members have been working at hotels for 10, 20, or even 30 years.

Mills said the lack of daily room cleaning has reduced housekeeping jobs by nearly 40%, and it also makes the work harder because rooms are dirtier when they are finally cleaned.

The hotel chains involved in the strike include Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott, with a total of 23,000 rooms across cities like Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Honolulu, Kauai, and Greenwich. The union is considering expanding the strike to 65 hotels in 12 cities, possibly including Baltimore, Oakland, Providence, and New Haven.

Hilton and Hyatt spokespeople said they are committed to reaching deals with the union but will keep serving guests during the strike. Hyatt said they were disappointed by the strike decision but want to keep negotiating fair contracts.

Last year, 15,000 workers from the same union went on strike during the Fourth of July weekend at 65 hotels in Southern California. They returned to work a few days later but had rolling strikes during busy times, like when Taylor Swift had concerts in Los Angeles.

The current strikes are planned to last three days, similar to last year’s strikes in Los Angeles. The union hasn’t decided yet if they will do more rolling strikes in the future.

This Labor Day weekend has been very busy for travel. The AAA expects a 9% increase in domestic travel compared to last year, and the TSA expects record numbers of people at U.S. airports.