Hotel Labor Disputes Update: Boston and Seattle Join Strikes

15.10.2024 - 00:31 / skift.com / Sean Oneill / Gwen Mills

About 5,060 hotel workers are now on strike across the U.S., with walkouts in Boston and Seattle in the past two days escalating labor disputes in the travel sector.

The strikes are disrupting operations at major hotel chains such as Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Omni, affecting some travelers while putting pressure on owners and operators.

This weekend, more than 600 workers in Boston, including staff at the city’s largest hotel — Omni Boston Seaport, with over 1,000 rooms — joined strikes. On Monday, about 300 workers in Seattle walked off their hotel jobs.

Strikes at hotels in Honolulu and San Francisco have been ongoing since September.

Unite Here, the hospitality workers’ union, said that about 40,000 hotel workers in 22 North American markets have authorized potential walkouts before the end of the year. Workers call for a mix of greater pay, workload reductions, and staffing increases.

Union organizers have often used small-scale strikes this year as an intermediate step to raise pressure during negotiations.

Exhibit A: Since April, workers at the Omni Parker House and the Omni Boston Seaport hotels have been negotiating over new contracts. In mid-September, workers walked off the job for three days. They went on strike on Monday, planning not to return to work until they reached a deal.

In contrast, strikes by 374 workers at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Seattle Airport and Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center are planned to last only until October 19.

Some guests at affected locations have noted on social media that they’ve experienced service disruptions, such as unavailable daily housekeeping and closed swimming pools and other amenities.

New union leader Gwen Mills is preparing for tough negotiations as contracts between hotel groups and about 40,000 hotel workers are set to expire.

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