More than a hundred Hilton workers in Seattle have staged a walkout, demanding increased wages, fair staffing levels, manageable workloads, and the reversal of cuts made during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Unite Here union on Saturday. The Hawaiian workers have already been striking.
The union announced that the week-long strike involves 374 employees from the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Seattle Airport and the Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center, with actions set to continue until the early hours of October 19.
This strike is part of a broader movement, as approximately 10,000 hotel workers across various U.S. cities initiated multi-day strikes during Labor Day weekend after negotiations with major hotel chains, including Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt, reached an impasse.
Unite Here represents workers in the hospitality sector, including hotels, casinos, and airports, throughout the United States and Canada. A Hilton representative stated in an email to Reuters, “We remain dedicated to negotiating in good faith to achieve fair and reasonable agreements that benefit both our valued team members and our hotels.”
Currently, over 4,300 hotel workers are on strike at Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott locations in cities such as Honolulu, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle. Additionally, around 2,000 workers walked off their jobs in September at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which is the largest Hilton hotel in the world.
