Hundreds of San José Hotel Workers Set to Walk Out Over Contract Disputes

Hundreds of hotel staffers in San José are prepared to walk off the job over wages and staffing levels as their union negotiates contracts with some of the industry’s largest companies.

Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott employees in San José could start picketing as early as this week. The strike authorization vote on Monday passed with 98% support, according to Unite Here Local 19. On Friday, thousands of San Francisco hotel workers approved a potential strike.

Contracts covering 650 cooks, room attendants, bartenders, bellmen and other employees at the five San José hotels expired on June 30. The union said it began negotiating with management at the three companies last month.

Thousands of hotel workers in Honolulu, Boston and other cities have also supported potential walkouts, which are part of a Unite Here campaign for substantially higher wages and reversing what they call pandemic-era staffing cuts.

Ana Maria Rodriguez, a room attendant at the Hilton San José for 23 years, said she would walk off the job if needed because she doesn’t want her family to keep living paycheck to paycheck.

“After giving the company so many years of my life, I should be able to afford my groceries and my PG&E bills,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “It’s the bare minimum.”

Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Last week, a Hyatt executive told KQED that the company offers competitive wages and benefits and considers the well-being of employees a top priority.

The Bay Area hotel industry is still recovering from the pandemic, though there are glimmers of improvement. In San José, demand for hotel rooms is at 95% of pre-pandemic levels, but revenue continues to be lower as some downtown hotels shuttered even as others opened in less expensive areas, according to Team San José, a nonprofit tourism bureau for the city.

According to the San José Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs, the city estimates it will collect $54.6 million in hotel tax revenue this fiscal year, which is 25% less than in fiscal year 2018-2019.