Nationwide Hotel Worker Strikes Have Come to an End
by Briana Bonfiglio
Union Square, San Francisco. Photo: Oscity / Shutterstock.com
Since Labor Day 2024, hotel guests in several U.S. cities were met with striking hotel workers chanting on picket lines as they checked into their rooms.
That all came to an end last week when Hilton hotel workers in San Francisco, the final place where strikes continued, voted to approve a new union contract. Ninety-nine percent of the workers, part of the UNITE HERE Local 2 union, approved the agreement after 93 days on strike.
“San Francisco hotel workers are unbreakable,” said Lizzy Tapia, President of UNITE HERE Local 2. “Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott workers refused to give up their health care or go backwards – and we proved on the picket line that we’re not afraid of a tough fight. As contract talks begin with the city’s other full-service hotels in the new year, they should know that this is the new standard they must accept for their own employees.”
The San Francisco strike began on Sept. 22 and encompassed about 22.7% of the city’s hotel rooms, according to the union. There were 2,500 workers total on strike. Hyatt and Marriott workers were the first to approve new contracts.
The most recent agreement, which ended hotel worker strikes nationwide, was with Hilton and provides improved healthcare, significant pay increases, and new staffing policies for about 900 workers, including 650 at Hilton San Francisco Union Square.
More than 10,000 hotel workers were on strike on and off since September. Another big win for UNITE HERE came at Hilton Hawaiian Village, where more than 1,800 hotel workers voted to approve a contract, ending a 40-day strike that cause disruptions at the resort.
Though the seas are calm for now, the union cautions visitors that more strikes could occur in 2025.
