Boston hotel strike grows to nearly 1,300 workers
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Omni hotel workers are joining Hilton workers on the picket line. Photo: John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Nearly 700 hotel workers joined a strike against some of the biggest names in Boston hospitality.
The big picture: Thousands of hotel workers were already on strike at Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott hotels in Hawaii, San Francisco, Seattle and Boston.
- Their numbers grow as the employers and the unions fail to reach contract agreements.
Catch up quick: Nearly 600 workers at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza in the Back Bay and the Hilton Boston Logan Airport walked off the job earlier this month, per the Boston Business Journal.
- They vowed to strike until Hilton leaders and their union, UNITE HERE Local 26, reach a deal that includes higher pay, pension increases and better benefits.
The latest: 685 workers from the Omni Parker House and the Omni Boston Seaport hotels voted to go on strike, per UNITE HERE Local 26.
- They include room attendants, front desk agents, cooks, dishwashers, banquet staff, bellhops and others.
What they're saying: "I work two jobs in order to provide for my family. I'm always rushing, and I don't even have time to see my kids," Yuri Yep, a restaurant server at the Omni Parker House, said in a statement.
- "[The hotels] can afford what we're asking for, and we'll be out on strike until we win for all our families."
The other side: Michelle Myers, a Hilton spokesperson, said Hilton and the union are negotiating, but that workers have some of the "highest-paying jobs in the hospitality industry" in the Boston area.
- "While we disagree with many of the union's current demands, we trust that we share the same goal which is to negotiate toward a fair and reasonable agreement that is beneficial to both our valued team members and our hotels," Myers said.
- Omni representatives did not respond to a request for comment.
Between the lines: The union has been in talks with the hotels since April over new contracts with wage increases and "sustainable workloads," per a press release.
- Union leaders say the workers' key demands remain unmet and the raises the hotels want to offer "do not reflect their record profits and are not enough to offset cost-of-living increases."