Thousands of hotel workers are on strike over Labor Day Weekend

Over 10,000 hotel workers are on strike, including over 900 workers in Boston.

Over 10,000 hotel workers who are part of UNITE HERE — a union that includes people working for hotels, transportation, and several other industries — are on a multiday strike.

A press release from UNITE HERE before the strikes started said that workers in 12 US cities “have authorized strikes at Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Omni hotel properties that are locked in unresolved contract negotiations.”

Workers in nine of the 12 cities are on strike, with all but one starting on Sunday. A tracker from UNITE HERE updated Monday morning showed 5,000 UNITE HERE members in Honolulu, almost 2,100 in San Francisco, and over 900 in Boston were on strike.

“We wouldn’t have a day to rest, relax, and enjoy the fruits of the labor movement if our union predecessors hadn’t stood up to fight for them — but that fight’s not over,” Gwen Mills, UNITE HERE’s international president, said in a statement. “This year, hotel workers across the U.S. are celebrating Labor Day by fighting for raises, fair workloads, and the reversal of COVID-era service and staffing cuts.”

Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed the leisure and hospitality industry took far longer than the overall US labor market to surpass its employment seen in February 2020, after the US saw major job losses during the pandemic.

Job gains have been pretty low in leisure and hospitality, and the industry saw small employment declines in January and April. Still, the overall labor market has been cooler, and it might be more difficult to get a job now than a few years ago.

Mills said the workers are on strike because “the hotel industry has gotten off track.”

“During COVID, everyone suffered, but now the hotel industry is making record profits while workers and guests are left behind,” Mills said. “Too many hotels still haven’t restored standard services that guests deserve, like automatic daily housekeeping and room service.”

Mills noted how what the hospitality workers are making affects workers’ expenses and their households.

“Workers aren’t making enough to support their families,” Mills said. “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 tracker from the union shows workers on strike are from Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston or different Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton places. This includes workers from seven hotels in Honolulu, four in Boston, and five in San Francisco. Overall, the workers make up 25 hotels.

“Our colleagues are the heart of our business, and Hyatt has a long history of cooperation with the unions that represent our employees, including UNITE HERE,” Michael D’Angelo, Hyatt’s head of labor relations for the Americas, said in a statement. “We are disappointed that UNITE HERE has chosen to strike while Hyatt remains willing to continue bargaining in good faith.

“We have a history of offering competitive wages and benefits in each market, including comprehensive health care at little to no cost, as well as retirement savings,” D’Angelo added. “We have offered competitive wages, health care and retirement benefits at the hotels that are on strike at this time, and colleague benefits and wages remain unchanged as we negotiate a new agreement. We look forward to continuing to negotiate fair contracts and recognize the contributions of Hyatt employees.”

According to UNITE HERE’s tracker, workers on strike are from four Hyatt locations.

“Hyatt hotels have contingency plans in place to minimize impact on hotel operations related to strike activity,” D’Angelo said.

Workers from several different Hilton locations, such as workers from a San Diego location, are on strike.

“Hilton makes every effort to maintain a cooperative and productive relationship with the unions that represent some of our Team Members, and we remain committed to negotiating in good faith to reach fair and reasonable agreements that are beneficial to both our valued Team Members and to our hotels,” a Hilton spokesperson said. “We are also fully committed to providing guests with our signature hospitality and our hotels have contingency plans in place to ensure operations continue to run as smoothly as possible.”

Strike dates include September 1 to September 3, except for Seattle and San Diego, which have strike dates listed as September 1 to September 2, and Baltimore, where workers started going on strike on Monday. 200 UNITE HERE members are on strike in Baltimore, working for Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor.

“Strikes have also been authorized and could begin at any time in New Haven, Oakland, and Providence,” a September 2 press release from UNITE HERE said.