Dive Brief:
- Hotel workers in Providence, Rhode Island, and New Haven, Connecticut, voted to authorize strikes Wednesday, according to local chapters of hospitality union Unite Here on the social platform X.
- Meanwhile, Unite Here locals in Baltimore, Seattle, San Diego and San Jose, California, announced plans to hold strike authorization votes, according to a Unite Here release obtained by Hotel Dive. They join Boston, Honolulu and San Francisco, which previously announced their intention to hold votes this month.
- The results from Connecticut and Rhode Island represent “momentum” for possible nationwide hotel strikes, according to Unite Here. When workers vote yes to strike authorization, a strike could be called any time after their contracts expire — and contracts have already expired at Omni Providence and Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale.
Dive Insight:
Boston and Honolulu are the largest chapters voting this month to authorize strikes, with 5,000 workers each, according to Unite Here. The markets are followed in size by San Francisco (3,000 workers), San Diego (1,000 workers) and San Jose (700 workers).
The Providence union represents approximately 200 workers and the New Haven chapter roughly 125, a Unite Here spokesperson told Hotel Dive.
According to Unite Here Local 26, 98% of the 165 workers at Omni Providence who voted approved the strike. And according to Unite Here Local 217, 100% of Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale workers who voted said yes to a potential walkout.
“I’m voting yes to authorize a strike, because I work too hard to be disrespected by the Omni,” said Omni New Haven Hotel room attendant Carla Vallati in a statement. “While our hotel has posted record profits, workers like me are making less and less in the face of inflation.”
Omni did not respond to a Hotel Dive request for comment.
Beyond Omni, Unite Here is currently negotiating contracts at a variety of properties in markets nationwide, including for brands under Hilton, Hyatt Hotels Corp. and Marriott International.
And more strike votes could be announced, according to the union, which noted that more than 40,000 Unite Here workers have contracts up for renegotiation this year across the U.S. and Canada. Many of those workers were part of protests that took place earlier this year.
"This is a fight about the future of the industry for guests and workers alike, and our members are putting the hotels on notice that they’re ready to strike for what their families need,” said Gwen Mills, the union’s newly elected president, in a statement last week.
