10,000 US hotel workers strike over long holiday weekend

Workers walk off the job in eight US cities over pandemic-era cost-cutting measures.

Some 10,000 hotel workers across the United States have gone on strike over a major holiday weekend to demand better pay and conditions.

Workers on Sunday walked off the job in eight cities, including Boston, Honolulu, San Francisco, San Diego and Seattle, after the UNITE HERE union and the Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott hotel chains failed to reach a deal in contract negotiations.

Gwen Mills, International President of UNITE HERE, said the union had called the strike ahead of Labor Day on Monday as hotels had not reversed cost-cutting measures introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic despite making “record profits.”

“Too many hotels still haven’t restored standard services that guests deserve, like automatic daily housekeeping and room service. Workers aren’t making enough to support their families,” Mills said in a statement.

“Many can no longer afford to live in the cities that they welcome guests to, and painful workloads are breaking their bodies. We won’t accept a ‘new normal’ where hotel companies profit by cutting their offerings to guests and abandoning their commitments to workers.”

The union said strikes had also been authorised in Baltimore, New Haven, Oakland, and Providence and could begin in those cities at any time.

Michael D’Angelo, head of US labour relations at Hyatt, said the chain had a “long history of cooperation” with unions and it was disappointed UNITE HERE had chosen to strike.

“We look forward to continuing to negotiate fair contracts and recognise the contributions of Hyatt employees. Hyatt hotels have contingency plans in place to minimise impact on hotel operations related to potential strike activity,” D’Angelo said in a statement.

Hilton and Marriot did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Labor Day weekend is typically one of the busiest periods for travel in the US.

Motoring organisation AAA said last month that bookings over the Labor Day weekend were up 9 percent compared with last year.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has said it expects a record 17 million people to travel during the period.