US hotel strikes revive in Boston, New Haven and San Diego
Another wave of hotel strikes unfurled in two major New England cities Tuesday, while one in Southern California continues to grip a Hilton-affiliated property.
Hundreds of hotel workers in Boston and New Haven, Connecticut, went on strike Tuesday amid a national labor dispute between hospitality workers and hotel owners. Limited strikes previously took place over Labor Day weekend in several other cities, including Boston, but mainly ended after several days. Workers at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront have been striking since the beginning of the month and say they will continue to strike until a new contract deal is struck.
All those striking are part of various chapters of the Unite Here labor union and include housekeepers, front desk agents, cooks, dishwashers, servers, bartenders, bellhops and other hotel staff. Around the country, local Unite Here chapters representing hotel workers have been negotiating for higher wages, better working conditions and more employee protections. Many hotel labor contracts expired Aug. 31.
Workers at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel voted to strike Monday and could walk off the job at any minute, a Unite Here announcement claimed. Additionally, strikes have been authorized and could also happen in Baltimore; Greenwich, Connecticut; Honolulu; Kauai, Hawaii; Oakland, California; Providence; San Francisco; San Jose, California; and Seattle.
The new strikes in Boston are currently underway at The Dagney, The Newbury Boston, Moxy Boston Downtown and W Boston, and will last three days. The New Haven strike is taking place at the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale, but the expected duration hasn't been made public.
While spokespeople with major brands like Hilton and Hyatt previously told TPG there are contingency plans in place to minimize disruptions during a strike, Unite Here warns guests that services will likely be suspended while hotels operate with skeleton staffing.
Additionally, the labor union launched a "Hotel Disloyalty" website Thursday highlighting how Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt have devalued their respective loyalty programs since the pandemic. Unite Here emphasizes these point value declines are a piece of greater operations cuts underway at major hotel groups to reduce costs.
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