The union that represents thousands of Chicago hotel workers appears to be preparing for a strike it says could affect 30 city hotels.þþUNITE HERE Local 1 wrote on the Web site chicagohotelstrike.org that “there could be a strike at any time” at hotels where workers’ contracts expired Friday. The union listed all 30 Chicago hotels where there is “a risk of labor disputes,” including the Palmer House Hilton, the Sheraton Grand, the Drake and the Westin and Hyatt chains.þþEach hotel brand bargains with the union separately.þþUNITE HERE Local 1 members voted Aug. 15 to authorize a strike that could begin any time after the contracts expired Aug. 31. Ninety-seven percent of the 3,218 people who voted OK’d the strike, the union said on its Twitter feed.þþIt isn’t clear how many workers are covered by the expired contracts or whether there actually will be a work stoppage. Union spokespeople have not responded to multiple calls and emails.þþBut the union has been signing members up for strike benefits and picket shifts over the last couple of weeks, according to posts on its Facebook page, and on Saturday it posted photos of hotel workers with bullhorns captioned “our strike captains are trained and ready!”þþMarc Gordon, head of the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association, can’t recall there having been a broad strike threat in Chicago’s hotel industry before.þþ“It would be a shame,” Gordon said. “We feel that we take care of our employees and have taken care of them so we hope this doesn’t result in a strike.”þþHyatt said it is “pursuing contingency plans to minimize the impact of potential job actions on the guest experience.” The chain’s collective bargaining agreement with UNITE HERE covers over 1,500 employees across three Chicago hotels, including Hyatt Regency Chicago, Hyatt Recency McCormick and the Park Hyatt.þþChicago-based Hyatt had completed its second contract negotiation meeting with the union on Thursday and has additional sessions scheduled throughout September.þþ“Hyatt and UNITE HERE have already come to successful agreements this year in other markets, and we intend to continue negotiating in good faith,” said a statement from Michael D’Angelo, Hyatt’s vice president of labor relations for the Americas.þþKimpton Hotels, whose potentially affected hotels include the Hotel Allegro and Hotel Palomar, said it is in discussions with the union regarding the new contract and “we look forward to an amicable negotiation process.”þþ“We respect our employees’ right to engage in concerted activity, and our hotels are prepared to continue to provide top-notch service to our guests in the event of a strike,” the hotel said in a statement.þþAt the Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park, spokeswoman Colleen Sweitzer said in an email: “We have been given no indication of a work stoppage. We are confident we will reach an agreement that is in the best interest of all parties.”þþIt isn’t clear if contract negotiations are stumbling, or if there are particular issues causing gridlock. UNITE HERE Local 1, which helped pass a new law that requires Chicago hotels to provide housekeepers with panic buttons to guard against sexual harassment and other safety issues, has been posting to its Facebook page about a potential strike since the start of August, as it rallied members in the run up to the strike vote.þþA video features hotel workers describing how job cuts in their departments leave them overworked and drained of energy for their own families. The union represents more than 15,000 hospitality workers in the Chicago area.þþThe strike threats come amid a busy summer for Chicago’s hotel industry, which has enjoyed a rise in visitors over the past several years. The city announced a record 55.2 million visitors to the city in 2017, and said hotel room occupancy climbed 3.3 percent.þþHotels in Chicago’s central business district reported $1.45 billion in room revenue from January through July of this year, up 10.4 percent from the same period last year, according to hotel data specialist STR.
Source: Chicago Tribune
