Approximately 10,000 hotel workers from Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt locations across the U.S. are on strike during the busy Labor Day weekend.
The workers, part of the UNITE HERE union, are fighting for higher wages and fair staffing and workloads. They say hotels took advantage of COVID-era staffing and service cuts that have never been restored.
“I’m on strike because I don’t want hotels to become the next airline industry,” said Christian Carbajal, who has worked at the Hilton Bayfront in San Diego for 15 years, in a press release. “I used to work in room service, but after COVID, they closed my department. Now I work in the grab-and-go market. Guests complain to me that they can no longer get a steak delivered up to the room, and the tips aren’t what they used to be. I’m making less than I used to, and now two families share my house because we can’t afford the rent anymore. The hotels should respect our work and our guests.”
Mary Taboniar, who has been a housekeeper at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu for six years, says the wages are not enough.
“I have to work a second job because my job at the hotel is not enough to support my kids as a single mom,” she said in a press release. “I’m living on the edge where I’m not sure if I’ll be able to pay our rent and groceries or provide my family with health care. It’s so stressful. One job should be enough.”
RELATED STORY| United Airlines flight attendants vote to strike for the first time in nearly 20 years
With room rates at record highs, the U.S. hotel industry made a gross operating profit over $100 billion in 2022, according to UNITE HERE. All the while, staffing per occupied room was down 13% from 2019 to 2022, and services like automatic daily housekeeping and food and beverage options were removed.
“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 for 33 years. “A couple weeks ago, we were at 98% occupancy, but they only put three servers when we used to be a team of four or five. It’s too much pressure on us to go faster and faster instead of calling in more people to work.”
The union is asking guests of any hotels on strike to not eat, sleep or use any services until negotiations are met. They are asking consumers to use the union’s Labor Dispute Map to determine which hotels are on strike and opt for an alternative.
Workers are striking at 24 hotels in eight cities: Boston, Greenwich, Honolulu, Kauai, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle.
RELATED STORY| KAT&T employees in 9 states go on strike as union alleges 'unfair labor practices'
