Thousands of San Francisco Hotel Workers Ready for Strike Vote

After months of contract negotiations have yet to produce a deal, some of San Francisco’s largest hotel brands could have to contend with a strike by thousands of their workers as early as next month.

About 3,000 employees at Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt hotels are set to hold a strike authorization vote, their union, Unite Here Local 2, said Tuesday. If it passes, they could walk off the job soon after their contracts expire on Aug. 14.

A strike would be the latest disruption for a San Francisco hospitality industry still struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. It also comes amid a nationwide wave of hotel labor unrest; across the U.S., 40,000 Unite Here workers have contracts set to expire this year, and union locals in cities such as Boston and Providence, Rhode Island, have announced similar strike votes, inching up the heat on employers as they negotiate new contracts.

In San Francisco, workers at the eight downtown hotels said they are calling for wage increases and pensions that keep up with the cost of living, as well as fixes to what they see as frequent understaffing during very busy shifts.

Management proposals have included smaller raises and cuts to benefits, which most union members consider as “trash” and “unacceptable,” said Bill Fung, who has worked at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square for 29 years.

“Nobody wants to go on strike,” said Fung, a 59-year-old carpet cleaner who has sat in recent negotiations. “But the hotels are going too far.”

Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Even as tourism in other California cities has rebounded from the pandemic, in San Francisco, the hotel industry “is hurting significantly, with some owners surrendering their properties,” said Alex Bastian, president and CEO of the Hotel Council of San Francisco, an industry trade group that is not involved in the contract negotiations.

“The decrease in visitors has led to fewer shifts for workers,” Bastian said in a statement, adding that other challenges include soaring interest rates and inflation. “In the immediate future, we must make tough decisions to sustain the industry. By approaching this year with objectivity and unity, we can overcome these unprecedented obstacles, ensuring our community’s survival.”

San Francisco’s hotel sector relies heavily on business tourism and conventions, both of which have been slow to return since the pandemic, said Ted Egan, the city’s chief economist.

Hotel occupancy rates remain lower than in 2019, and the city’s hotel tax revenue was $283 million for the 2022–23 fiscal year, down from $414 million in 2018–19, Egan said.

Despite the downturn, Marriott International, Hyatt and Hilton are very profitable corporations that can afford to improve conditions for their local housekeepers, cooks, dishwashers, bartenders and other staffers, said Lizzy Tapia, president at Unite Here Local 2.

The workers’ proposals “are really about what we need, and not about what we want,” Tapia said. “And the way the companies have responded to us, it’s almost as if they went backwards.”

The hotels are “taking advantage” of fluctuating business to keep staffing levels low even when there is a surge of guests, which stresses out workers on the clock while keeping others without a paycheck at home, she said.

“What we know for a fact is that business is actually back some of the time,” Tapia told KQED. “When business picks up, will they then staff accordingly? Can we get folks brought back to work when they are actually needed?”

The San Francisco hotels where workers announced a strike vote are the Grand Hyatt, Hilton Union Square, Hyatt Regency Embarcadero, Marriott Marquis, Marriott Union Square, Palace Hotel, Parc 55 and Westin St. Francis.