Why Are So Many Hotel Employees Striking?

Hotel labor unions took the annual celebration of workers’ rights seriously, as over 10,000 hotel staff members walked off their jobs during the extended Labor Day weekend, with strikes still in effect as of Tuesday, September 3.

As of the latest update, around 9,376 workers remain on strike in Boston; Greenwich, Connecticut; Honolulu and Kaua‘i in Hawai‘i; and San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose, California. The walkouts are occurring at more than two dozen properties of Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott.

The hotel employees participating in the walkouts are members of the UNITE HERE labor union, which represents 300,000 workers in the hospitality, gaming, and transportation industries across Canada and the United States.

The strikes commenced on Sunday morning and were set to conclude on Tuesday, September 3. However, with further negotiations anticipated later this week, it remains uncertain if additional walkouts will occur if those talks do not succeed.

Why Are Hotel Workers Striking?

The hotel employees on strike are advocating for higher wages and highlighting that staffing levels have not returned to pre-pandemic standards after layoffs during COVID. Many hotels have not rehired enough staff, leading to unsustainable working conditions. "Numerous hotels took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce staffing and guest services that were never reinstated, creating difficult working environments for those left to manage the increased workload," stated UNITE HERE in a statement regarding the strikes.

Rebeca Laroque, a housekeeper at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich for 12 years, expressed, "I’m on strike because I need higher wages, health insurance, and fewer rooms to clean." In a media release from UNITE HERE, she added, "I work incredibly hard and come home exhausted, yet I still struggle to make enough to cover my bills."

Gwen Mills, international president of UNITE HERE, commented in a release, "During COVID, everyone faced challenges, but now the hotel industry is enjoying record profits while workers and guests are being neglected." She pointed out that many hotels have yet to restore essential services like daily housekeeping and in-room dining that guests rightfully expect.

Mills further stated, "Workers aren't earning enough to support their families. Many can no longer afford to live in the very cities they serve, and the overwhelming workloads are taking a toll on their health."

As a result, they are seeking to negotiate improved wages and working conditions with the hotels. Below is a list of the hotels impacted by the strikes.

If you have a reservation at any of these specific hotels, or at other Hilton, Hyatt, or Marriott locations in these areas, you can stay updated using UNITE HERE’s Labor Dispute Map. This tool allows users to search for hotels by name or city to see if a strike is ongoing. Although hotels claim they are still operating during the strikes, there have been reports of guests encountering reduced services, such as limited housekeeping and dining options.

Last year, UNITE HERE workers successfully negotiated new contracts following a series of strikes in Los Angeles and Detroit.