Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include news of additional unions in Hawaii, California and Maryland joining the strikes.
Approximately 10,000 hotel workers at 25 Hilton, Hyatt Hotels and Marriott International properties walked off the job over Labor Day weekend as part of strikes across the country, according to hospitality union Unite Here.
Early Sunday morning, workers at four Boston hotels and one in Greenwich, Connecticut, walked out, according to a release from Unite Here. The affected properties are Fairmont Copley Plaza, Hilton Boston Park Plaza, Hilton Boston Logan Airport and Hampton Inn/Homewood Suites Seaport District in Boston, and Hyatt Regency Greenwich in Connecticut.
“I’m on strike because I need more wages, I need the health insurance, and I need less rooms because I work so hard and I come home exhausted at the end of the day but I still don’t make enough money to pay my bills,” said Rebeca Laroque, a room attendant at Hyatt Regency Greenwich, in a statement. The hotel could not be reached for comment.
A few hours later, workers on the West Coast also struck. In Seattle, union members walked off the job at The Westin Seattle, Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center and DoubleTree by Hilton Seattle Airport, according to Unite Here Local 8 in a post on X.
In California, Unite Here Local 30 shared on X that workers at Hilton San Diego Bayfront were on strike. The San Francisco chapter of the union also noted that its workers were on strike, but did not specify how many walked out. San Francisco’s strike authorization vote represented 3,000 workers in the market, but unions at individual hotels can call for strikes at different times.
The total number of workers jumped to 10,000 later Sunday as Unite Here announced workers in Honolulu and Kauai in Hawaii and San Jose, California, joined the strikes. On Monday, workers at Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor in Baltimore also walked out, according to the union.
The union said more cities could “soon” announce strikes “after months of unresolved negotiations.”
Cities where hotel strikes have already been authorized include Oakland, California; Providence, Rhode Island; and New Haven, Connecticut.
Marriott and Hyatt could not immediately be reached for comment. A Hilton spokesperson told Hotel Dive: “We remain committed to negotiating in good faith to reach a fair and reasonable agreement that is beneficial to both our valued Team Members and to our hotel.”
