FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 22, 2024

Media Contact: Sonya Karabel [email protected]

1,500 SAN FRANCISCO HOTEL WORKERS STRIKE AT HILTON, HYATT, AND MARRIOTT HOTELS

UNITE HERE Local 2 Workers Strike at Major Union Square Hotels for Affordable Health Care, Raises, Reversal of COVID-Era Cuts

San Francisco, Calif. – Approx. 1,500 San Francisco hotel workers are on strike.

The strike includes housekeepers, bellhops, cooks, dishwashers, servers, bartenders, and more. The workers are members of the UNITE HERE Local 2 union, and they say they are protesting painful workloads and wages that aren’t enough to afford the cost of living, as well as for affordable health care.

This strike at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco Union Square, Hilton San Francisco Union Square, and Westin St. Francis follows months of contract negotiations and a three-day strike over Labor Day weekend. The previous contract in San Francisco expired on August 14, 2024. Around 700 hotel workers are also on strike at the Hilton Bayfront in San Diego.

“I’m on strike because I have to work two jobs to support my family,” said Jin Ling Xie, a housekeeper at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square for ten years. “I love my job, and going on strike wasn’t an easy decision, but it’s what I have to do for my family. My job at the Hilton isn’t enough to pay all the bills, so I’m always worried about the family budget. My kids are in high school, and I don’t know how I will pay for their college. Things are hard right now, but I know that when we fight together, we can win a better future.”

“The hotel industry is recovering while workers and guests are getting left behind,” said Lizzy Tapia, President of UNITE HERE Local 2. “Workers are fighting for affordable health care and good raises because they just aren’t making enough to support their families. Meanwhile, many say their jobs are harder and more painful than ever. It’s time for the hotels to do the right thing for their guests and workers.”

Workers decided not to strike during Salesforce’s Dreamforce 2024 conference. “Salesforce made a commitment to keep Dreamforce in San Francisco for three more years. They stepped up and did the right thing, so we did too,” Tapia said. “San Francisco can’t recover without a strong hotel industry, and the hotels can’t recover unless we’re cleaning the rooms, cooking the meals, and helping travelers with their bags. We need the hotels to make our jobs sustainable so we can keep doing that work.”

Thousands of hotel workers in twelve destinations across the U.S. have authorized strikes at Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Omni hotel properties where contract negotiations remain unresolved. Over 10,000 workers in Baltimore, Boston, Honolulu, Kauai, New Haven, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Mateo County, and Seattle have gone on strike, and strikes have also been authorized in Oakland and Sacramento.

Workers across the U.S. are calling for higher wages, fair staffing and workloads, and the reversal of COVID-era cuts. Many workers report working two or even three jobs because current pay is not enough to support their families. The union says that too many hotels took advantage of the pandemic by cutting staffing and suspending guest services that were never restored, causing workers to lose jobs and income – and creating painful working conditions for those who carry the increased workload.

Hotel room rates are at record highs, and the U.S. hotel industry made over $100 billion in gross profit in 2022.  Meanwhile, staffing per occupied room was down 13% from 2019 to 2022 as many hotels nationwide have kept COVID-era service cuts in place, including understaffing, ending automatic daily housekeeping, removing food and beverage options, and more.

Last year, UNITE HERE members won record contracts after rolling strikes at Los Angeles hotels and a 47-day strike at Detroit casinos.

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UNITE HERE Local 2 is the hospitality workers’ union in San Francisco, San Mateo County, and the East and North Bay, representing over 15,000 workers in hotels, restaurants, tech cafeterias, sports stadiums, and at SFO and OAK.