Posts tagged hotel workers
Hotel and stadium workers can refuse work if ICE is present, union says as World Cup approaches
March 25, 2026 // The union is urging hotels, stadiums and other venues not to host or provide staging areas for ICE or Border Patrol during what it calls a period of heightened public attention. If employers choose to allow federal agents on site, the union is requesting advance notice and confirmation that workers will be permitted to leave or refuse the assignment without facing disciplinary action.
Karen Bass’ $30 per hour mandate for hotel workers sends shockwaves through the industry forcing job cuts and restaurant closures
March 8, 2026 // Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is getting backlash after signing a gradual wage hike for hotel workers into law, with a new report claiming the measure has already begun ravaging the industry. The report found that 650 workers have lost their jobs and restaurants have closed or reduced their operating hours since September when the new wage structure took effect. The law requires hotels in the city to increase the minimum wage for workers to $30 an hour in light of the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics.
SANTA MONICA: Council to Take Up Scaled Back Unionizing Ordinance
January 27, 2026 // The move to scale back the initial measure comes six months after the Council voted on July 8 to direct staff to draft an ordinance that would pave the way for unionizing businesses that lease space from the City. On August 21, nearly three dozen local businesses sent a letter to City officials warning the ordinance was "unnecessary and harmful" and comes at "the worst possible time"
Wyndham Hotel workers go on strike amid contract negotiations in Center City
November 11, 2025 // Workers are pushing for higher wages, better staffing levels, and improvements to both health care and pension plans.
Marriott, Hilton workers strike in Philadelphia
October 7, 2025 // Union employees at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown and the Hampton Inn Philadelphia Center City are calling for higher pay and improved benefits.
‘We ain’t going away’: Hilton hotel workers extend strike again in wage push
September 21, 2025 // Unionized workers at the Hilton Americas-Houston will extend their strike by another three weeks, buoyed by political support and grassroots donations in their push for a $23 minimum wage. The strike at one of the city’s largest hotels began on Labor Day and was originally set to last 10 days, but workers extended it through Sept. 20 after negotiations stalled. The latest extension slates an Oct. 12 end date, which would bring the strike to a total of 42 days.
Op-ed: Can Zohran Make NYC a Union Town Again?
September 9, 2025 // The new mayor could host big online unionization trainings with the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee, as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez have already done. If this led even a small fraction of Zohran’s 60,000-plus volunteers and over 6 million social media followers to start organizing their own workplaces—or to take a strategic job to unionize it—this could potentially generate thousands of new unionization campaigns. And were Mamdani to act upon our proposal to launch a broad Movement for an Affordable New York (MANY), then the pool of new potential workplace organizers would grow significantly.
Commentary California’s $20 Minimum Wage Is a Cautionary Tale for Los Angeles’ Olympic-Sized Wage Hike
July 22, 2025 // In a classic case of central planning, lawmakers in Los Angeles passed a bill in May to bring the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers to $30 by 2028, while also imposing a new $8.25 per hour mandatory health care contribution. Implementation of that bill is currently on hold as the city clerk reviews the signatures of a referendum petition that would bring the bill to a public vote in June 2026. Los Angeles’ sector-specific wage hike follows on the heels of California’s statewide $20 minimum wage mandate for fast-food workers that went into effect in April 2024. The consequences of that wage hike on the fast-food industry should be a warning sign to Los Angeles, especially as it prepares to host the 2028 Summer Olympics. Crucial to the success of those Olympic games will be the capability of the city’s hotels and its Los Angeles International Airport to serve an estimated 15 million visitors.
$30 Minimum Wage Has L.A. Hotel Owners in Revolt
June 24, 2025 // Now, hotel owners have to contend with what local union leaders say will be the highest minimum wage in the country. The city council voted last month to boost the wage for workers in hotels with 60 rooms or more. Hourly pay, currently $20.32, will increase every year until it reaches $30 in 2028. The industry is mounting an effort to roll back the new minimum-wage law. Los Angeles hotel owners are petitioning to suspend the city’s new ordinance, and several hotel owners have also threatened to pull out of agreements to provide blocks of rooms during the Olympic Games. Some hoteliers say they were already eager to exit L.A., if only they could find an offramp. “We would love to sell” our L.A. hotels, said Jon Bortz, chief executive of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, which owns two hotels in the city and seven more in the L.A. area. “But nobody will buy them.”
Fenway, MGM concession workers vote to authorize strike
June 17, 2025 // "Boston is a union town, and it's time to bring all Fenway workers' wages up to standard," said Carlos Aramayo, president of UNITE HERE Local 26, which represents the Fenway workers. "Local 26 hotel workers fought for, and won, $10-an-hour raises last year, and Local 26 university dining workers will be making a minimum of $30 an hour by 2028. There's no reason for Fenway workers to be left behind. They deserve raises and respect!"