Hotel Workers Strike Across U.S. Cities Amidst Contract Negotiations

Nearly 1,100 hotel workers in Boston and Greenwich are on a three-day strike after contract talks with major hotel operators stalled. The strike could spread to other cities, affecting travel during Labor Day weekend. Workers are demanding better wages and reversal of pandemic-era job cuts.

Nearly 1,100 hotel workers in the U.S. cities of Boston and Greenwich are on a three-day strike after contract talks with hotel operators Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, and Hyatt Hotels reached an impasse, the Unite Here union said on Sunday.

The strikes, which began on Sunday, may spread to other cities across the US during the Labor Day weekend, as more hotel workers prepare to join the walkout. Marriott and Hilton did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Hyatt previously told Reuters that it has contingency plans for a strike so that hotel operations are not affected. Thousands of hotel workers will be on strike as 9% more Americans travel domestically over Labor Day weekend compared to last year, according to AAA booking data.

Unite Here, which represents workers in hotels, casinos, and airports across the United States and Canada, said disappointed hotel workers may strike in other major cities as they struggle to agree with hotel operators on wages and on reversing pandemic-era job cuts. "Strikes have also been authorized and could begin at any time in Baltimore, Honolulu, Kauai, New Haven, Oakland, Providence, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle,” the union said in a statement.

The strike comes as 40,000 Unite Here hotel workers across 20 cities face expiring contracts this year. About 15,000 of those workers have authorized strikes in 12 markets from Boston to Honolulu. Workers have been in negotiations for new four-year contracts since May.

"We won't accept a 'new normal' where hotel companies profit by cutting their offerings to guests and abandoning their commitments to workers," Unite Here President Gwen Mills said, demanding a better deal. The union has urged travelers to cancel their hotel stays if the workers are on strike and demand penalty-free refunds.

Unite Here workers in 2023 won record contracts in Los Angeles following rolling strikes and in Detroit after a 47-day strike. In Las Vegas, casino operators MGM, Caesars and Wynn resorts reached an agreement in November to avert a strike with 40,000 hospitality workers days before a deadline that would have crippled the Vegas Strip.

(With inputs from agencies.)