Hotel workers from coast to coast went on strike Sunday, demanding better pay and more consistent work as many Americans traveled to celebrate Labor Day weekend.
About 10,000 workers hit picket lines in Greenwich, Conn., Boston, Honolulu, Seattle, the San Francisco Bay area and San Diego, according to organizers at Unite Here!
The strikes affected Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton hotels in the various cities. Workers in New Haven, Conn., Providence, R.I., Baltimore and Oakland, Calif., also voted to authorize strikes but did not walk out Sunday.
“I’m on strike because I need more wages, I need the health insurance, and I need less rooms,” said Rebeca Laroque, a housekeeper at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich. “I work so hard and come home exhausted at the end of the day, but I still don’t make enough money to pay my bills. Going on strike is a huge sacrifice, but it’s something I have to do because I need a better life for me and my two kids.”
AP Photo/Charles Krupa
Union members from Local 26, representing workers in the hospitality industries of Massachusetts, picket outside the Hyatt Regency Boston, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many hotels have cut daily room cleaning service. While the companies tout environment benefits, unions claim it was simply a move to decrease costs.
Nely Reinante of the Hilton Hawaiian Village said the lack of daily cleaning actually makes the job harder and creates more work, as the rooms get dirtier without consistent cleaning.
Many hotel contracts expired in August, leading Unite Here! to line up three-day strikes across the country. Both Hilton and Hyatt said they were committed to continuing negotiations and disappointed in the strike decision. Marriott did not publicly comment.
Hotels have been struggling to find workers after slashing staff during the pandemic. A trade group, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, says 80% of its member hotels report staffing shortages, with housekeeping as the greatest need.
According to the group, 86% of hotels have increased wages in the past six months.
But for many workers, it hasn’t been enough.
“Since COVID, they’re expecting us to give five-star service with three-star staff,” said Elena Duran, a server at Marriott’s Palace Hotel in San Francisco. “It’s too much pressure on us to go faster and faster instead of calling in more people to work.”
The strike affected a planned Labor Day event in Boston, where politicians and local organized labor leaders were set to gather at the Hilton Park Plaza Hotel — one of the hotels where workers are striking.
Instead, the Greater Boston Labor Council moved the event to a nearby park, where Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, along with Rep. Ayanna Pressley, were expected to attend.
“Hotel executives are making unprecedented millions while workers right here in Boston struggle with the basics,” council president Darlene Lombos said.