10,000 US hotel workers strike as contract talks break down

Around 10,000 US hotel workers began a multi-day strike in several cities on Sunday, after contract talks with hotel operators Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, and Hyatt Hotels were stalled, the Unite Here union said.

Unite Here, which represents workers in hotels, casinos, and airports across the United States and Canada, said thousands of workers at 24 hotels are on strike in some major travel destinations including San Francisco and San Diego in California, Hawaii's capital city Honolulu, Boston, Seattle, and Greenwich, Connecticut, with workers from additional cities ready to join the walkout as the Labor Day holiday weekend continues.

The strike is taking place with the industry facing a nine per cent increase in Labor Day weekend domestic travel compared to last year, according to AAA booking data.

"Strikes have also been authorised and could begin at any time" in Baltimore, New Haven, Oakland, and Providence, the union said in a statement, as hotel workers and operators struggle to agree on wages and on reversing pandemic-era job cuts.

Hotel workers are being stretched thin, according to the union, 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.

"Since COVID, they’re expecting us to give five-star service with three-star staff,” the union said, quoting a staff member at Marriott’s Palace Hotel in San Francisco.

Hotel housekeepers in Baltimore are fighting to bring wages up to $20 (AED 73) per hour from their current $16.20 (AED 58). In Boston, where housekeepers make $28 (AED 102) per hour, the union is seeking a $10 (AED 36) per hour raise by the end of four years.

The strike comes as 40,000 Unite Here hotel workers across 20 cities face expiring contracts this year. Negotiations for new four-year contracts have been taking place since May, and about 15,000 of those workers have authorised strikes in 12 markets.