Hotel Workers Strike for Fairness and Better Working Conditions

Hotel workers represented by the UNITE HERE union are staging walkouts across eight U.S. cities, demanding better wages and working conditions, and a reversal of service and staffing cuts implemented during the pandemic. The union, which represents some 10,000 hotel workers, argues that the "opt-out" system for daily housekeeping, often encouraged by hotels as an environmentally friendly choice, has increased workloads and reduced hours for employees. This system has particularly impacted hotel housekeeping staff, many of whom are women of color, who are already struggling with low pay and unpredictable schedules.

The walkouts, which began on Sunday, have impacted 25 hotels in cities including Honolulu, Boston, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, and Seattle.

Workers in other cities could strike in the coming days as contract negotiations stall over the union's demands for better wages and work conditions.

The Impact on Hotel Housekeeping

The union's fight to restore automatic daily room cleaning is central to their demands, as it directly impacts the workload of housekeepers. Workers, like Fatima Amahmoud, who cleans up to 17 rooms a shift at the Moxy hotel in downtown Boston, say that the increased workload is overwhelming and unsustainable.

Amahmoud described finding three days worth of dog fur clinging to a guest room’s curtains, bedspread, and carpet, a situation that would take longer than the allotted 30 minutes per room.

The union argues that the "opt-out" system for daily room cleaning is a way for hotels to cut labor costs and cope with worker shortages since the pandemic, while saddling housekeepers with unmanageable workloads.

Union's Fight for Fair Wages and Workload

The UNITE HERE union emphasizes that the fight to restore daily housekeeping is not just about convenience, but about ensuring fair working conditions and equitable compensation for employees. This is particularly critical in the hotel industry, which disproportionately employs women and people of color.

The union cites the fact that 90% of building housekeepers are women, and many are immigrants and older individuals.

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.

Challenges and Perspectives from the Hotel Industry

The American Hotel And Lodging Association has reported that 80% of its member hotels are experiencing staffing shortages, with housekeeping cited as the most critical hiring need. The association argues that hotels are actively working to attract employees by raising wages and offering improved benefits. However, workers on the ground, like Maria Mata, a housekeeper at the W Hotel in San Francisco, say that their reality is more complex. She only gets called in for work one or two days a week, causing her to max out her credit cards to cover expenses.

Mata, who makes $2,190 every two weeks when working full-time, is struggling to find another job at her age and is hoping the union can negotiate a fairer system.

Nely Reinante, a housekeeper at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, has found that guests often decline room cleaning due to concern for her workload, but she emphasizes that opting out of service creates more work for housekeepers.

The Pandemic's Lasting Impact on Labor

The pandemic has had a significant impact on the hotel industry, and the labor unrest seen in this strike reflects the challenges facing low-wage workers, particularly women of color, who are disproportionately employed in service jobs. The pandemic caused widespread furloughs and job losses in the sector, leading to increased workloads and reduced hours for those who remained. The strike highlights the need for a more equitable and sustainable labor model in the hotel industry, one that ensures fair wages, reasonable workloads, and stable employment opportunities for all workers.

The U.S. hotel industry employs about 1.9 million people, some 196,000 fewer workers than in February 2019.

The hotel industry's recovery from the pandemic is uneven, with occupancy rates still below 2019 levels despite higher room rates and record guest spending.

The union emphasizes that the current labor model is unsustainable, as hotels attempt to squeeze more out of workers while they face erratic schedules and low pay.

The Future of Hotel Housekeeping and Labor

The outcome of the strike will have significant implications for the future of hotel housekeeping and the broader hotel industry. The union's success in securing higher wages, better working conditions, and the restoration of automatic daily room cleaning could set a precedent for other hotel workers across the country, pushing for greater labor rights and fairer treatment in the industry.

Experts in labor relations, such as David Sherwyn, Director of the Cornell University Center for Innovative Hospitality Labor & Employment Relations, believe that the union faces an uphill battle over daily room cleaning, as hotels see it as a key part of their budget and staffing strategy.