by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 2:20 PM ET, Tue September 3, 2024
Thousands of hotel workers in the United States went on strike over the busy Labor Day holiday weekend and on Monday, Baltimore hotel workers walked off the job as well, joining the labor action.
About 200 hotel workers from Baltimore’s Hilton Inner Harbor hotel have decided to join their fellow hotel workers on the picket line, according to a press release from Unite Now, the union that represents the hotel workers.
Hotel workers are striking after what they have described as “months of unresolved negotiations” over pay issues, staffing levels and more.
More than 10,000 workers are now on strike across the nation. In addition to Baltimore, hotel workers are on strike in Boston, Greenwich, Honolulu, Kauai, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle.
The strike is impacting at 25 hotels operated by such household names as Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt.
“I walked out today because we just cannot keep working paycheck to paycheck, not able to pay our bills,” Jerome Roberts, a dishwasher at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor, said in a statement issued by the union yesterday. “Going on strike is hard, but not nearly as hard as trying to get by on what we are getting paid. We told the bosses in our negotiations how much we are struggling right now but they didn’t care. We are on strike to make them pay.”
Workers are seeking higher wages, fair staffing and workloads, and the reversal of COVID-era cuts.
The union said in its statement that worker’s wages aren’t enough to cover the cost of living, and many have to work two jobs to make ends meet. The union also contends that many hotels took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to cut staffing and guest services and then never restored those services to pre-pandemic levels.
This reality, the union says, has caused workers to “lose jobs and income – and [is] creating painful working conditions for those who carry the increased workload.”
“I work four part-time jobs to survive,” Concepción Marquez, a banquet server at the Signia by Hilton San Jose and Marriott San Jose for 21 years, said in a statement.
“Going on strike is a huge sacrifice, but it’s something I have to do for my family,” Marquez added. “Right now, we don’t have health insurance because my employers won’t give me hours. We told the bosses in our negotiations how hard things are for us right now, but they didn’t care. The hotel only respects power, so it’s time to show them our strength.”
The strikes come at a time when room rates have reached record highs. In addition, the U.S. hotel industry made over $100 billion in gross operating profit in 2022. At the same time, according to the union, staffing per occupied room was down 13 percent from 2019 to 2022.
Hyatt said in a statement it is disappointed by the union’s decision to strike, according to CNN. “We look forward to continuing to negotiate fair contracts and recognize the contributions of Hyatt employees,” said Michael D’Angelo, head of labor relations at Hyatt.
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