United States: Luxury hotel workers strike

October 31, 2024
Issue 
striking workers
Photo: Serena Ashmore

Luxury hotel workers in San Francisco have been on strike for 37 days, as at October 28. Workers from the Grand Hyatt, Marriott and Westin hotels are striking for wages, health insurance and retirement benefits.

The striking workers include room cleaners, cooks, dishwashers, servers, bartenders and porters.

Hyatt, which operates the Grand Hyatt San Francisco, counts their profits in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian (A$31.5 million) last year, including bonuses and stocks.

It would take a room cleaner 335 years to make that much.

Grand Hyatt hotel worker Anna told 麻豆传媒: 鈥淥ur job is very hard and they need us. We鈥檙e demanding what we know we deserve.鈥

After a previous three-day strike, Hyatt failed put forward reasonable proposals for a 鈥渇air contract鈥. Workers say the proposed contract would move them 鈥渂ackward鈥, leaving them without enough money for medical benefits, retirement or wages, and would undo the hotel鈥檚 workplace standards.

Workers told GL: 鈥淲e are not going back!鈥

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striking hotel workers
Photo: Serena Ashmore

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