Late on Sept. 26, hotel workers in Greenwich, CT, and Providence, RI, ratified 4-year union contracts that include wage increases and more affordable healthcare benefits—a move many hope spurs progress in other destinations where hotel employees have engaged in temporary or ongoing strikes.
The new contracts at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich and Omni Providence Hotel are the first to resolve ongoing disputes around the country between employees represented by hospitality-workers union Unite Here and more than two dozen properties managed by Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Omni.
The union celebrated the contract settlements but warned that rolling 3-day strikes conducted on short notice will continue elsewhere until new agreements replace now-expired contracts. Destinations where short-term strikes could happen include Baltimore, Boston, Kauai, and Seattle, along with four in California: Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, and San Mateo County.
In addition, more than 4,000 hotel workers in Honolulu, San Diego, and San Francisco walked off the job in early September and say they won’t return until a deal is reached in their city.
On Sept. 19, 1,200 Boston hotel workers with Unite Here Local 26 went on a 3-day strike, the third and the largest strike in September, joining a nationwide labor dispute that ramped up on Labor Day Weekend.
The strikes came after the union previously said negotiations back in April over an increase in wages commensurate with Boston’s high cost of living, as well as more rules for preventing injuries on the job, better staffing and workloads with the reversal of COVID-era cuts made to staff and guest services that burden current employees.
Effects on Meetings & More
Planners with upcoming events in cities facing potential strikes should be ready to work with their destination partners and communicate with attendees if they face disruptions to their itineraries.
Meanwhile, another looming strike promises repercussions extending well beyond the hospitality industry as members of the International Longshoremen’s Association are set to go on strike at 12:01 a.m. ET Tuesday in protest of the automating of their jobs and its impact on wages.
As of Monday morning, Sept. 30, time was running out to avoid a work stoppage at ports along the entire East and Gulf Coasts in what could become the most disruptive strike to the US economy in decades.
