Courtesy of Sergey Galyonkin from Raleigh, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Boston hotel workers walked off the job on Thursday, September 19, in a third wave of three-day
strikes sweeping the city’s hospitality industry. Almost 1,200 workers picketed outside of the Omni Parker House on Thursday morning, demanding a new contract that includes pay increases and job security after their previous contract expired at the end of August.
The picket line began early Thursday morning and marked the third and largest weekend of picketing for Boston’s hotel industry since Labor Day weekend, mirroring similar strikes in eight other cities across the U.S.
The striking workers are members of UNITE HERE Local 26, a union representing hospitality workers across Massachusetts, and includes room attendants, doorpersons and front desk agents employed at four different hotels across the city. In the previous two weeks, over 2,500 Boston workers have walked off 12 different hotel properties to join the city-wide action.
“If you ask anyone on this picket line if the economy is working for them, they’re gonna say it's not. They can’t afford their rent, they can’t afford to live in Boston, they can’t afford groceries,” said UNITE HERE Local 26 president Carlos Aramayo in an interview with The Boston Political Review. “This is workers taking things into their own hands and making the demands they need to and using the leverage they have to actually get these companies to do the right thing.”
Though the union stated in a press release that they would prefer to not go on strike, they stated that they will continue to walk off the job until contract negotiation progress is made. Workers stated that they were driven to the picket lines because a new contract is crucial given their personal circumstances.
“We’re all making ends meet. I personally have two jobs,” said Yuri Yeb, a shop steward who has been with UNITE HERE Local 26 for approximately ten years, in an interview with the Boston Political Review. “I believe one job should be enough… our families should get the time and attention that they need.”
“I work here full time, and sometimes I do overtime,” said Kaba Kamara, a houseperson at the Omni Boston Seaport Hotel, in a UNITE HERE Local 26 press release . “I still have to get a second job so that I can pay my mortgage and other monthly bills. My schedule is crazy – I don’t have enough time to spend with my family.”
In bargaining for a new contract, UNITE HERE Local 26 hopes to see better benefits, fair scheduling and wage increases that account for inflation, following the losses of post-pandemic job cuts.
“After COVID, we had a very modest contract extension to try to get [Boston hotels] back on their feet, and what did they do? They cut services, they cut hours, they cut jobs in this industry, and so folks here have to work two or three jobs to make ends meet,” said Aramayo in an interview with the Boston Political Review. “They're offering cents when we need dollars, and we need a real leader in the hotel industry to step up and to actually start to drive this to a settlement.”
At the picket lines, workers chanted “make them pay,” and “don’t check in, check out,” demanding that guests not patronize hotels when their unions are striking. UNITE HERE encourages prospective guests to consult its Labor Dispute Map before booking a visit at a hotel in Boston.
“Right now we have about 500 guests in the hotel but the economic situation for the employees [is not] good,” said Sandra Guzman, a worker who has been in the hospitality industry for 18 years, in an interview with the Boston Political Review. “We try, try, try, and they don’t give us nothing.”
The ongoing strikes speak to the lasting fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and its long-term effects on working people in Boston and beyond. As the cost of living rises and tourism increases in Boston, lack of progress at the bargaining table has continued to drive a wedge between workers and hotel administration.
Despite the strikes, Boston hotels maintained that their services would not be impacted.
“We remain committed to bargaining in good faith to reach a contract agreeable to all parties,” said Omni Hotels & Resorts in a statement following the third weekend of strikes.
Marriott and Omni both assured patrons that services at their hotels would not be interrupted over the weekend.
UNITE HERE Local 26 is not the only union of residence or hospitality workers in the Boston area seeking for improved conditions and an updated contract. Boston University’s (BU) ResLife Union, which includes Resident Assistants (RAs), Graduate Resident Assistants (GRAs), and Graduate Housing Assistants (GHAs), recently reached a tentative agreement with the university that includes increased compensation, Just Cause protections, and a grace period for violation of BU’s GPA policy.
“I do see some similarities between the Boston hotel worker strike and ours,” said Lindsay S., a BU RA who recently went on strike, in an interview with the Boston Political Review. “They’re also fighting for wages that would allow them to afford basic necessities like food, with the reasoning that one shouldn’t have to work two jobs to survive.”
“There’s a shift across the country,” said Aramayo in response to Boston’s widespread labor disputes. “The economy’s not working for working people.”
Moving forward, UNITE HERE Local 26 shows no sign of ceasing their strikes or giving up on their demands. If hotel prices continue to increase and the union’s demands for a contract are not met, these limited-duration strikes could continue for the foreseeable future.
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