Thousands of US hotel workers strike over Labor Day weekend

Dee-Ann Durbin, Associated Press

More than 10,000 workers astatine 25 U.S. hotels were connected onslaught Monday aft choosing Labor Day play to amplify their demands for higher pay, fairer workloads and nan reversal of COVID-era cuts.

The UNITE HERE union, which represents nan striking housekeepers and different hospitality workers, said 200 workers astatine nan Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor were nan latest to locomotion disconnected nan job.

Nearly half of nan striking workers – aliases 5,000 – are successful Honolulu. Thousands of workers are besides connected onslaught successful Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego and San Jose, California. The strikes targeting Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt hotels were group to past 1 to 3 days.

UNITE HERE said a full of 15,000 workers person voted to authorize strikes, which could soon dispersed to different cities, including New Haven, Connecticut; Oakland, California; and Providence, Rhode Island.

Union President Gwen Mills says nan strikes are portion of long-standing conflict to unafraid family-sustaining compensation for work workers connected par pinch much traditionally male-dominated industries.

“Hospitality activity wide is undervalued, and it’s not a coincidence that it’s disproportionately women and group of colour doing nan work,” Mills said.

Unionized housekeepers want to reinstate automatic regular room cleaning astatine awesome edifice chains, saying they person been saddled pinch unmanageable workloads, aliases successful galore cases, less hours and a diminution successful income. Many hotels trim services during nan coronavirus pandemic and ne'er restored them.

But hotels opportunity guests are nary longer asking for regular room cleaning and immoderate different services.

Michael D’Angelo, nan caput of labour relations for Hyatt successful nan Americas, said successful a connection Monday that nan concatenation has contingency plans successful spot to minimize nan effect of nan strikes connected edifice operations.

“We are disappointed that UNITE HERE has chosen to onslaught while Hyatt remains consenting to negotiate,” D’Angelo said. “We look guardant to continuing to discuss adjacent contracts and admit nan contributions of Hyatt employees.”

Messages seeking remark were near pinch Marriott and Hilton connected Monday.