The largest participation of hotel workers in the strike was recorded at hotels in Boston, San Francisco and Honolulu
About 10,000 workers in the hotel sector started a strike today in several cities USA with requests for salary increases and staff recruitment
According to the union Unite Hereabout 10,016 of its members participated in the strike at 25 facilities of hotel giants Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott.
📣 Seattle Airport Hilton Workers are on the picket line, joining 10,000 hotel workers across the continental USA and Hawaii on strike!!
🪧 We will not accept painful workloads that are breaking our bodies or jobs that cannot support our families. Enough is enough. #1u pic.twitter.com/d2J4m12zuy
— UNITE HERE! Local 8 (@UniteHereLocal8) September 1, 2024
The largest participation of hotel workers in the strike was recorded at hotels in Boston, San Francisco and Honolulu, for a total of eight cities, according to Unite Here, while hotel workers in four other cities are considering joining the strike action.
The strikes are expected to last two to three days, the union said in a statement.
The strike action comes amid one of a three-day holiday in the country, with the weekend following its federal holiday Labor Day in the USA, (celebrated this year tomorrow, September 2). This three-day period is very profitable for the tourism industry.
According to Unite Here, the hotel industry has “taken advantage” of its pandemic Covid-19 to reduce the workforce, without fully replenishing it after health restrictions are lifted.
Union members also claim that their wages often no longer allow them to cover their current expenses and that “many are forced to take on second jobs to make ends meet”.
At the same time, they emphasize, the hotel industry has fully recovered from the Covid-19 crisis.
In 2023, the average price of a hotel room in the US reached $156 per night on average, a record, according to STR.
Average revenue per room was also higher than ever, according to the same source.
In recent months, many companies have concluded new contracts with their employees, but negotiations between employers and employees have not resulted in agreements in many other cases.
“We are disappointed that Unite Here has chosen to go on strike while the Hyatt remains willing to negotiate,” Michael D’Angelo, head of labor relations at the hotel group in the US, told AFP.
“We want to continue to negotiate fair deals and recognize the contributions of Hyatt employees,” he added.
The spokesman stressed that the hotel group had taken steps to “minimize the impact of a strike on its business”.
Source :Skai
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