Hotel workers in San Francisco are making their voices heard.
Some 2,500 employees are now on strike in San Francisco, with those at the city’s Marriott Marquis being the latest to join the picket lines on Sunday. That addition means that SF’s three biggest hotels are involved, with the strike spanning the Grand Hyatt San Francisco, the Hilton San Francisco Union Square, the Marriott Union Square, the Palace Hotel, and the Westin St. Francis.
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“Hotel workers have made it clear that we won’t give up when our health care, our families, and the city we love are on the line,” Lizzy Tapia, the president of Unite Here Local 2, the union representing the workers, said in a statement. “San Francisco hotels have a choice to make. They can ‘Bet on SF’ by settling contracts that actually allow hotel workers to support our families and help rebuild our local tourism industry, or own the fact that they are driving business away.”
The striking workers are aiming for contracts that include affordable health care, raises, and more staffing after cutbacks during the pandemic. Back in August, they said they would take more modest wage increases and make their pay contingent on future profits if the hotels agreed to “bet on SF” by reinvesting in and staffing up at hotels. Among the changes they would like to see are reopened restaurants and more bellmen and doormen working outside. The hotels, however, have not agreed to their demands as of yet.
A whole host of hotel employees are involved in the strike: housekeepers, bellhops, cooks, bartenders, and more. Since they’ve been striking, the union says, some two dozen clients have pulled their business from San Francisco hotels. Meanwhile, four clients have said they would book 25,000 room nights in San Francisco next year if the strike is settled in time.
Beyond the hotels themselves, the strike also affects the guest experience. Some guests have said they were unaware of the striking workers, with no notice of the loud picket lines outside or disrupted service. Some hotels, however, have had to deal with no daily housekeeping, closed dining establishments, and trash and dirty linens piling up.
Until the hotels and their employees agree on a new contract, this may be the case at San Francisco hotels for a while longer.
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