Posts tagged hotel workers
Thousands more Chicago hotel workers could strike at any moment
October 13, 2026 // Union members say they want better health care benefits, pensions, protection for immigrant workers, wages that keep up with inflation and safer workloads. A 2025 survey by the UNITE HERE Local 1 union found 32% of its members lacked money to cover their rent or mortgage and around 29% lacked money to cover utility bills in the last 12 months.
Thousands of downtown Chicago hotel workers vote to authorize strike
September 23, 2026 // The union said the last large-scale strike at downtown Chicago hotels was in 2018, when workers at 26 hotels went on strike. During that strike, customers complained about dirty beds, long check-in lines, and other issues, while people who live downtown got fed up with noise from nonstop picket lines. All of the affected hotels reached contract agreements with workers within a month of the 2018 strike.
Thousands of Chicago hotel workers threaten to strike
September 9, 2026 // The union represents 15,000 workers at more than 40 Chicago hotels, meaning a widespread strike could disrupt hotel operations during a key time for tourism and conventions. Catch up quick: By Aug. 31, contracts covering about 7,000 workers at Chicago hotels had officially expired, according to Unite Here Local 1.
Seattle hotel workers strike hits 2 months, demanding better pay and healthcare
August 23, 2026 // Union workers at one of Seattle's busiest hotels are doubling down on their fight for better pay, year-round healthcare and protections from federal immigration agents as their strike reaches two months.
Workers at Berkeley’s Graduate by Hilton hotel push to unionize
July 22, 2026 // “UC Berkeley makes up a huge amount of its business, whether directly or indirectly,” she said. “The trends here really are very different than the rest of the industry.” Trevor Jackson, co-chair of the UC Berkeley Faculty Association, said he was invited to join the protest. He said he knows the university does a lot of business with the hotel and he wanted to support its workers. “I’m a professor of history and I will tell you history is on your side,” Jackson told picketers. “We got your back.” Maricela Castro told the group through a Spanish translator she has worked at the hotel for 30 years. She said she’s a room attendant who makes $23 an hour and feels like she does the work of two people.
Striking Seattle hotel workers apply for unemployment benefits
July 15, 2026 // Washington's law, which took effect Jan. 1, allows workers to collect up to six weeks of unemployment benefits while on strike during a contract dispute. The latest: Hotel workers at the Hilton-owned Embassy Suites in Pioneer Square have applied for the benefits and expect to start receiving them next week, their union, Unite Here Local 8, tells Axios.
Sources corroborate whistleblower claims of corruption, quid pro quo culture inside powerful NYC union
July 8, 2026 // The letter, reviewed by Fox News Digital, asserts that top officials within the New York Hotel Trades Council and UNITE HERE Local 6, including President Richard Maroko, participated in actions that violated internal policies, fiduciary obligations and possibly federal law. The union denies all allegations of impropriety and organized two internal investigations carried out by third-party lawyers who found the whistleblower's claims to be unsubstantiated.
‘Make them respect us’: Striking Seattle hotel workers apply for unemployment benefits
July 5, 2026 // Hotel workers on strike at Seattle’s Embassy Suites Downtown Pioneer Square are signing up for unemployment benefits on Thursday. Workers represented by UNITE HERE! Local 8 are entering their third week of the strike, calling for higher wages, year-round healthcare, restored pre-pandemic staffing levels, and protections against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions.
Seattle hotel workers could go on strike right before World Cup
June 3, 2026 // About 113 union workers at a busy hotel near Lumen Field could go on strike right before massive crowds are expected to arrive in Seattle for the FIFA World Cup, when more than 750,000 visitors are expected in the city.
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.