Marriott Strike Ends in Oakland, Detroit

Marriott hotel workers in Detroit and Oakland ended their month-long strike after reaching an agreement with the hospitality giant.

Employees at the Oakland Marriott City Center and Detroit’s Westin Book Cadillac ratified contract agreements with Marriott over the weekend. The settlement brings the strike to a halt in both cities, after 200 workers in Oakland and nearly 160 workers in Detroit hit the picket line on Oct. 5.

Details of the deal were not immediately disclosed. According to the labor union, Unite Here, both cities will share full details on their new contracts after the other hotels have reached agreements. The labor union that represents hotel workers has separate contract agreements with Marriott International in each city, which are all negotiated separately. The six remaining strike cities will be bargaining again soon, Unite Here said.

“We are encouraged by the progress achieved in resolving the strikes in Oakland and Detroit with strong, fair contracts, and are hopeful that similar progress can be achieved in the other six cities still on strike,” said Donald “D.” Taylor, international president of Unite Here. “The progress made by Marriott this week in both cities shows that they are able to make reasonable movement, and we are hopeful that soon one job will be enough to live on with dignity at every Marriott in all cities.”

The strikes continues at 21 Marriott properties with over 7,000 workers participating in San Jose, San Francisco, San Diego, Boston, Maui and Oahu.

Marriott earlier expressed that it is “disappointed that Unite Here has chosen to resort to a strike instead of attempting to resolve these disputes at the bargaining table.”

“We continue to believe that the best place to resolve these issues is at the bargaining table. We remain committed to negotiating in good faith to reach a fair contract for all parties,” a Marriott International spokesperson said.