With COVID-era contracts with union locals starting to expire on 23 October, UNITE HERE, the labor union representing hotel workers across North America, seized on the opportunity to demand a “livable wage” and better working conditions for their members.
After negotiations dragged on for nearly a year, more than 10,000 hotel workers from 25 Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Omni hotels in nine cities: Baltimore, Boston, Greenwich, Honolulu, Kauai, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle, walked off the job over the busy Labor Day holiday.
Since then most of those workers are back on the job, but workers at various sites remain on strike. According to a spokesperson for San Diego’s UNITE HERE Local 33, 97.8 percent of the hotel’s 737 workers voted to strike until their contract dispute is resolved.
Bridget Browning, president of San Diego UNITE HERE Local 33, explained that that her Local started with the Hilton Bayfront Hotel because it was the first contact to come up for renewal. A settlement has now been reached for that hotel but the outcome will likely serve as a model for negotiations with other hotels in the region.
State of play
According to data from UNITE HERE there are currently still 4,432 hotel workers on strike across eight hotels in three cities (Boston, San Francisco and Honolulu). Since the walkouts started, a further 12,215 workers have returned to work across 35 sites.
“Hotel workers are on the move, and we’re not stopping anytime soon,” said Gwen Mills, International President of UNITE HERE. “Our members believe that hotel jobs should be genuinely good, family-sustaining jobs that don’t break your body and that enable you to live with dignity. Our recent contract settlements prove that that’s possible, and strikes will continue until we all win.”
The strikes that have taken place are in some of the nation’s most affordable cities. In San Diego, for example, the median rent in 2024 for an apartment ranges between $2,346 for a studio unit to $3,721 for a two-bedroom unit, according to Rent.com, In San Francisco, the range is $2,935 for a studio to $4,916 per month for a two-bedroom unit. The average rent in Boston is even higher, ranging between $3,371 for a studio apartment and $5,064 per month for two bedrooms.
In fact, rents throughout California are so out of step with the average worker’s income that a rent-control initiative will be on the November ballot. Prop 33 would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act of 1995, which currently prohibits local ordinances from limiting rental rates for new tenants and capping rent increases on existing tenants in certain residential properties.
Boston is also considering bringing back a rent control policy, which was abolished by the state of Massachusetts in the mid-90s, to address the City’s housing affordability problem. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has proposed 20-percent inclusionary ordinance to provide income-restricted units in new residential developments of 7 or more units and a rent stabilization plan that would limit annual rent increases to 6 - 10 percent annually, based on the Consumer Price Index.
CoStar reported earlier this year that the hotel industry posted the highest average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (revpar) on record in 2023. Occupancy was 6 percent to 63.0 per cent—the highest since 2019, ADR 4.3 per cent to 155.62 and revpar4.9 per cent to $97.97.
Mills noted that all union locals are asking for fair staffing levels, like prior to the pandemic. “Hotel workers say their jobs are harder and more painful than ever,” she said. Browning admitted that in 2021 and 2022 it was difficult for hotels to hire enough skilled hotel workers to return to the pre-COVID staffing level, but since then the labor market has improve, so it’s no longer a valid excuse for overworking staff.
Strike strain
The strikes have put a strain on hotels affected. The Washington Post reported that at Boston hotels affected by the strikes, for example, management and temps were attempting to keep guests happy, but the shortage of trained staff resulted in long check-in lines and waits for rooms to be readied, as well used towels in hallways, dirty rooms, A limited bar menu withoit specialty cocktails, and long waits for food service.
Since the American Auto Association (AAA) had billed Boston one of the best places to spend Labor Day, the City’s hotels were packed. Guests at affected hotels were caught of guard, unaware of the Labor Day strikes. Some guests told the Post that they support unions or human rights and felt uncomfortable crossing the picket line, but could find an alternative stay because most hotels had a full house.
By Patricia Kirk