The first of the strikes began Sunday, when more than 4,000 workers walked off the job at hotels in Boston, San Francisco, Seattle and elsewhere.
Union members from Local 26, representing workers in the hospitality industries of Massachusetts, picket outside the Hyatt Regency Boston, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Boston. With up to 17 rooms to clean each shift, Fatima Amahmoud's job at the Moxy hotel in downtown Boston sometimes feels impossible.
More than 40,000 workers, represented by the UNITE HERE union, have been locked in difficult contract negotiations with major hotel chains that include Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Omni. They are seeking higher wages and a reversal of service and staffing cuts. Michael D'Angelo, Hyatt's head of labor relations for the Americas, said the company's hotels have contingency plans to minimize the impact of the strikes."We are disappointed that UNITE HERE has chosen to strike while Hyatt remains willing to negotiate," he said.
It's a workforce that relies overwhelmingly on women of color, many of them immigrants, and which skews older, according to UNITE HERE. The American Hotel And Lodging Association says 80% of its member hotels report staffing shortages, and 50% cite housekeeping as their most critical hiring need. Guests at the Hilton Hawaiian Village often tell Nely Reinante they don't need their rooms cleaned because they don't want her to work too hard. She said she seizes every opportunity to explain that refusing her services creates more work for housekeepers.
UNITE HERE Daily Room Cleaning Strikes Higher Wages Staffing Shortages Housekeepers Hospitality Industry
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