[ad_1]
Sept. 1, 2024 – Thousands of U.S. hotel workers are striking for better pay and working conditions, a dispute that threatens to disrupt many Labor Day holiday weekend travelers and as unions warn that the strike action could intensify.
More than 10,000 employees left hotels in Boston, Seattle, Honolulu, Kauai and Greenwich (Connecticut), as well as the California cities of San Francisco, San Diego and San Jose, following contract negotiations with hotel owners.
The United Here union, which represents hotel, casino and airport workers in the United States and Canada, warned that workers in other cities were ready to join the strike.
“A strike has also been authorized and can begin at any time,” the union statement said, adding that hotels in Baltimore, Providence, Oakland and New Haven could be affected.
Employees are demanding pay increases and a reversal of pandemic layoffs, which union organizers say have increased workloads for remaining workers and created “painful” working conditions.
“The hotel industry has recovered from the pandemic with record room rates,” Gwen Mills, international president of Unite Here, said in a statement. “But hotel workers can’t afford to live in the cities where they host guests. Too many hotel workers are having to work two or even three jobs just to make ends meet.
“We will not accept a ‘new normal’ where hotel companies profit by slashing their offers to guests and abandoning their commitments to their employees.”
The union said the strike affected 24 cities and a total of 23,000 hotel rooms as of Sunday morning.
This occurred on a weekend that was expected to be the busiest Labor Day weekend on record, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
Unite Here, which has more than 275,000 members, accused the hotel industry of taking advantage of layoffs caused by coronavirus shutdowns to permanently cut staff and guest services.
It has asked guests travelling to the affected hotels to cancel their trips and request a refund.
The strike, expected to last three days, follows months of negotiations between workers and the Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Omni hotel chains.
Hyatt is disappointed with the decision to strike. “We look forward to continuing to negotiate a fair contract and recognizing the contributions of Hyatt employees,” said Michael D’Angelo, the company’s director of labor relations.
[ad_2]
Source link
