"Demanding Wage Increase"... 10,000 US Hotel Workers Strike During Labor Day Holiday

"Impact of COVID-19 Workforce and Service Reductions"

On the 1st (local time), AP News and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that 10,000 workers belonging to 25 hotels in eight major U.S. cities went on strike during the Labor Day holiday.

On this day, hotel union workers belonging to 'UNITE HERE' are staging strikes and protests in Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco, Boston, and Honolulu, Hawaii.

Hotel workers belonging to the hotel union are striking in Waikiki, Hawaii.
[Photo by Reuters]

They mainly work for hotels such as Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott, handling tasks such as room cleaning, front desk, kitchen and restaurant staff, bartenders, doormen, and bellboys.

AP News reported that hotel workers in other cities may also go on strike within a few days. A total of 15,000 hotel workers voted in favor of the strike.

According to UNITE HERE, major hotels have not restored the workforce and services reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to their original levels until recently, and union members are suffering from excessive workloads and low wages. UNITE HERE has been negotiating with hotels since May over expanding employment and raising wages.

Gwen Mills, global representative of UNITE HERE, said, "The hotel industry is heading in the wrong direction, so we have gone on strike," adding, "We will not accept the 'new normal' where hotels reduce services provided to guests and gain profits by breaking promises to workers."

Hilton and Hyatt stated that they are doing their best to negotiate an agreement with the union.

Although the average room occupancy rate in the U.S. hotel industry has not reached the pre-pandemic level of 2019, room rates and customer spending have risen significantly. According to the Hotel Association, the average revenue per room is expected to reach a record high of $101.84 this year. However, employment has decreased. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. hotel industry employs about 1.9 million people, which is 196,000 fewer than in February 2019.

Earlier, hotel workers belonging to UNITE HERE in Southern California conducted a series of strikes starting in July last year, securing demands such as wage increases and guarantees of reasonable workloads.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.