Thousands more US hotel workers continue to strike: What travelers can expect

Posted by Admin September 25, 2024 Travel

Around 4,000 hotel workers are currently on strike as of Wednesday in Honolulu, San Diego, and San Francisco.
The labor union said more strikes could begin at any time in cities across the nation as negotiations remain ongoing.
As their contracts with the hotels ended, workers are demanding better wages and fair staffing and workloads as the COVID-era reductions continue to burden them heavily.

Thousands more hotel workers in the U.S. have gone on strike this week as negotiations between the UNITE HERE labor union and major hotel chains over pandemic-related cuts remain very far apart.

Approximately 2,000 workers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu – the biggest Hilton in the world and the largest hotel property in Hawaii – went on strike yesterday for an indefinite amount of time, according to the labor union. This past Sunday, about 1,500 San Francisco-based workers from the Grand Hyatt San Francisco, Hilton San Francisco Union Square and the Westin St. Francis, a Marriott property, also went on strike.

The labor union said more strikes could begin at any time in cities across the nation as negotiations remain ongoing and issues are still far from resolved.

Over Labor Day weekend, over 10,000 union workers – including housekeepers, front desk clerks, bartenders, dishwashers and others – went on strike for about two to three days at various Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Omni hotels in cities like Boston, Honolulu and Seattle. As their contracts with the hotels ended, workers are demanding better wages and fair staffing and workloads as the COVID-era reductions continue to burden them heavily.

The hotel industry has bounced back from the pandemic, with hotel room rates at record highs while workers say they aren’t making enough to support their families, and many work multiple jobs just to make ends meet.

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“I’m on strike because my workload is overwhelming and exhausting. I love my job, and I want to take care of our guests, but with the understaffing, I am stretched so thin,” said Jason Viveiros, a front desk agent at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, in a statement. “My wife and I are expecting another child in a few months, so having a reasonable workload would mean that instead of being physically and mentally depleted every day, I have the energy to take care of my family and their needs.”

Where could there be more hotel strikes?

Since negotiations haven’t concluded, strikes could happen at any moment across all cities involved with the labor union, including Baltimore, Boston, Honolulu, Kauai, New Haven, Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, San Mateo County and Seattle, UNITE HERE said.

“Hotel workers are going to strike for as long as it takes to restore respect for our work and our guests,” said Gwen Mills, International President of UNITE HERE, in a press release. “The hotel industry is making record profits by cutting the hospitality experience for guests and leaving workers behind. But we know that these huge hotel corporations can afford wages that are enough to live on, workloads that don’t break workers’ bodies, and to reverse COVID-era cuts. We’re in a new stage of this fight, with thousands of hotel workers ready to stay on strike until we win what our families need.”

Where are there currently hotel strikes?

Around 4,000 hotel workers are currently on strike as of Wednesday in Honolulu, San Diego, and San Francisco, with no end date announced. However, these hotels are technically open and continue to operate, but typical hotel services, like room service, will likely be reduced or not available.

UNITE HERE recommends that travelers check out Fairhotel.org to look for hotels unaffected by potential strikes.