Business & Tech
Bay Area Hotel Workers Launch Strike On Labor Day Weekend
Thousands of San Francisco, San Mateo and San Jose hotel workers went on strike as part of a national action, a labor union said.
BAY AREA, CA — Thousands of San Francisco, San Mateo and San Jose hotel workers went on strike Sunday morning as part of a national action, the Unite Here Local 2 union said.
Lizzy Tapia, president of Unite Here Local 2, said that 2,080 workers at the Grand Hyatt SFO, Grand Hyatt Union Square, Hilton Union Square, Westin St. Francis and Palace Hotel went on strike Sunday. In San Jose, 380 workers at the DoubleTree by Hilton and Signia by Hilton went on strike Sunday, a Unite Here Local 19 representative said Sunday morning.
The strike comes after months of failed contract negotiations, according to the union. Contracts expired Aug. 14 at the Hilton Union Square, Hilton-owned Parc 55, Marriott Marquis, Marriott Union Square, Marriott-owned Palace Hotel, Grand Hyatt Union Square, Hyatt Regency Embarcadero and Westin St. Francis, the union said.
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Contracts at five San Jose hotels expired June 30, according to Local 19. The five hotels are DoubleTree by Hilton, Signia by Hilton, Hyatt Place, Marriott and Hilton San Jose, Local 19 said. Two of these hotels went on strike Sunday, according to the union.
The purpose of the strike is to put pressure on the chains after about two months of negotiations failed to produce a new contract, Tapia said.
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A strike authorization vote by union members concluded Aug. 9 with support of 94% of those voting, Tapia said Aug. 9.
The union for housekeepers, cooks, dishwashers, servers, bartenders and bellmen said it has bargained since June to increase wages and pensions, add protections against what it calls work overloads and maintain workers' health insurance costs.
Hotel workers are also on strike in other parts of the country, the union said.
By Grace Marion / Bay City News
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