Posts tagged San Francisco
500 San Francisco hotel workers hit picket lines Thanksgiving week, joining 2,000 already on strike
November 25, 2024 // On Sunday, the San Francisco Marriott Marquis Hotel workers joined workers at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco, Hilton San Francisco Union Square, Marriott Union Square, Palace Hotel and Westin St. Francis, where workers represented by Unite Here Local 2 are already on strike. Local 2 officials said in a press release that the strike now includes 2,500 housekeepers, bellhops, cooks, dishwashers, servers, bartenders, and more. The strike has been going on since Sept. 22, according to Ted Waechter, a spokesman for the union.
Dozens of striking S.F. hotel workers arrested during march over labor dispute
November 3, 2024 // Dozens of striking San Francisco hotel workers were arrested on Wednesday as hundreds marched in protest amid a monthslong contract dispute. The union workers prompted arrest after sitting in the middle of Powell Street next to Union Square just after 5 p.m., at the end of a march that started next to the Hilton San Francisco Union Square, the city’s largest hotel. Workers wore red T-shirts that read “One Job Should Be Enough” and carried blue-and-yellow signs that said “Bet on SF” as they circled the Hilton. They chanted, “No contract, no peace,” and blasted air horns. Outside the Grand Hyatt, members slammed on drums made out of barrels.
2nd strike looms over San Francisco courthouses
October 30, 2024 // The clerks said their labor contract expired nearly a month ago. SEIU 1021 leaders said staffing and training issues led to more than 70 misdemeanor criminal cases being dismissed, and “continue to cause unnecessary delays and errors that can be very consequential to people’s lives.” Court managers refuse to seriously address root causes of a massive case backlog, union leaders claim. The purpose of striking is to catch the public’s attention about “the court’s mismanagement and violations of both labor law and the U.S. Constitution,” SEIU 1021 wrote.
San Francisco luxury hotel employees join worker’s strike
October 22, 2024 // This is the fifth major hotel to join the strike, including Grand Hyatt San Francisco Union Square, Hilton San Francisco Union Square, San Francisco Marriott Union Square and Westin St. Francis. The union said almost 2,000 San Francisco hotel workers have joined the strike. The employees include housekeepers, bellhops, cooks, dishwashers, servers, bartenders and other positions.
AFSCME union organizes state-wide rally over UC patient care contract
October 15, 2024 // Employees at the UCI Health Lakewood and Placentia Linda hospitals picketed similarly in front of their workplaces. Rallies were held simultaneously at all 10 UC campuses, including UC San Francisco and the UC San Diego, UC Davis and UCLA medical centers. Participants at UCI gathered at 8:30 a.m. to protest an ongoing impasse between the union and the UC system on negotiations for patient care technical and service employees, according to an Oct. 9 press release from AFSCME Local 3299.
Union workers at Hawaii’s largest hotel go on strike
September 26, 2024 // Around 2,000 hotel workers went on strike Tuesday at the world’s largest Hilton hotel and the biggest hotel in Hawaii Unionized workers at Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort — the largest Hilton in the world — began an open-ended strike at 5 a.m. They are calling for conditions including higher wages, more manageable workloads and a reversal of cuts implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic such as limited daily room cleaning.
SFO Marriott Employees Request Labor Board Vote to Remove Unwanted UNITE-HERE Union Officials
September 24, 2024 // Employees of the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront Hotel have requested an election to remove UNITE-HERE Local 2 union officials from their workplace. Hotel employee Erika Chavez just submitted a petition seeking such a vote to National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 20 in San Francisco with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
Politicians attend Labor Day breakfast outside Boston hotel join striking workers
September 3, 2024 // Almost 900 went on strike Sunday at Hilton Logan Airport, Hilton-Hampton Inn Boston Seaport, Fairmont Copley Plaza and Hilton Park Plaza. The picket line outside the Park Plaza forced organizers to relocate the Greater Boston Labor Council's Labor Day breakfast, an annual gathering of Democrats and union leaders. The breakfast was moved outdoors to Statler Park.
Strikes start at top hotel chains; housekeepers seek higher wages, daily room cleaning
September 2, 2024 // The union hopes to build on its recent success in southern California, where after repeated strikes it won significant wage hikes, increased employer contributions to pensions, and fair workload guarantees in a new contract with 34 hotels. Under the contract, housekeepers at most hotels will earn $35 an hour by July 2027. The American Hotel And Lodging Association says 80% of its member hotels report staffing shortages, and 50% cite housekeeping as their most critical hiring need. Kevin Carey, the association's interim president and CEO, says hotels are doing all they can to attract workers. According to the association's surveys, 86% of hoteliers have increased wages over the past six months, and many have offered more flexibility with hours or expanded benefits. The association says wages for hotel workers have risen 26% since the pandemic.
Hotel Workers’ Union UNITE HERE Releases Travelers’ Guide to Possible Strikes as Busy Labor Day Travel Weekend Approaches
August 25, 2024 // Hotel workers’ union UNITE HERE today published a guide of travel tips to help hotel guests plan for possible strikes across the United States. Thousands of hotel workers in nine cities have now authorized strikes at Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Omni hotels, but hotels rarely notify guests of a strike, and travelers sometimes learn of a strike only upon arriving at their hotel and being met by a boisterous picket line. The union launched the travel guide ahead of Labor Day weekend, when millions of Americans are planning travel.