Over 10,000 hotel worker are planning to go on strike this month. The move could disrupt fall travel at some of the nation's most popular hotels as workers fight for better pay and working conditions.þþAs of Wednesday, over 50 hotels across the U.S. in major cities such as San Francisco and Honolulu have already voted to strike. At Hilton Hawaiian Village, the largest resort in Hawaii, 94% of workers voted in favor of striking . Throughout the week, thousands more will decide whether to join the strikes, according to the hospitality labor union UNITE HERE.þþThe workers, including housekeepers, servers, and front desk clerks, are pushing for higher wages and fairer workloads after enduring increased burdens from the pandemic.þþÿSince COVID, the hotels have rebounded, but wages have not caught up,ÿ Gwen Mills, International President of UNITE HERE, told USA TODAY. ÿWe need wages to catch up so one job can be enough.ÿþþHotel markets in most major U.S. cities have recovered as of last summer, with hotel prices having increased to match the demand. However, workers have yet to see the benefits of the rebound.þþDuring the pandemic, hotels reduced staffing and guest services like daily housekeeping, forcing fewer employees to take on more work despite guest bookings picking back up. From 2019 to 2022, the number of workers per 100 occupied rooms in the U.S. hotel industry dropped by nearly 14%, according to the union.
Source: usatoday.com
