There is a strike affecting hotels in eight cities, with the potential for further strikes in Baltimore, New Haven, Oakland, and Providence, according to the Unite Here union.
Over 10,000 Unite Here union members initiated a multi-day strike on Sunday against two dozen American hotels, demanding higher wages and increased staffing.
Workers are advocating for higher wages, fair staffing levels, and a reversal of wage cuts that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many employees claim that current wages are insufficient to cover living expenses, forcing them to work multiple jobs to make ends meet, according to Unite Here.
The union announced that strikes have commenced in eight cities: Boston, Greenwich, Honolulu, Kauai, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle. Each city’s strike is expected to last two to three days, with the possibility of additional strikes in Baltimore, New Haven, Oakland, and Providence.
Unite Here emphasized in the press release that hotel room rates are at record highs, contributing to the hotel industry’s gross operating profit surpassing $100 billion in 2022.
Past strikes organized by Unite Here have targeted various hotels.
Beginning in July of the previous year, workers affiliated with a Unite Here union engaged in multiple strikes across numerous hotels. By March, the movement led to strikes at 53 hotels on over 160 occasions, marking it as the largest hotel worker strike wave in modern history, according to the union.
Unfair Demands, Worker Shortage
Some demands made by Unite Here during certain strikes have faced criticism. For example, a strike in July of the previous year requested that hotels support a ballot measure mandating Los Angeles hotels to accommodate homeless individuals.
Hotel owners subsequently filed an unfair labor practice charge against the union, arguing that such a demand was unrelated to employees and therefore illegitimate.
“The union is asking hotels to participate in a housing initiative over which we have no control,” explained Pete Hillan, a representative for the Hotel Association of Los Angeles, in a statement to The Epoch Times at that time.
The current strikes in the eight cities coincide with hotels encountering staffing shortages, prompting owners to increase wages in some instances to attract workers.
Eighty-six percent of respondents reported wage increases in the previous six months, while 52 percent provided more flexible working hours and 33 percent expanded benefits. Despite these efforts, nearly eight out of ten respondents struggled to fill positions.
“Seventy-six percent of survey participants reported a staffing shortage, with 13% experiencing severe understaffing affecting hotel operations. The most critical staffing need was identified as housekeeping, with 50 percent ranking it as their top hiring priority,” the survey revealed.
The Epoch Times contacted the hotels impacted by the ongoing strikes for their input.
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