Dozens of U.S. hotels faced disruptions during Monday’s busy Labor Day public holiday as over 10,000 workers went on strike after contract talks stalled, employees and the Unite Here union said.
Wearing red shirts and banging buckets, Unite Here members picketed outside Hilton Worldwide (HLT.N), opens new tab, Hyatt Hotels (H.N), opens new tab and Marriott International (MAR.O), opens new tab locations from Honolulu, Hawaii to Boston, Massachusetts, to demand higher pay.
The strike is occurring as the industry sees a 9% increase in Labor Day weekend domestic travel from last year, according to American Automobile Association booking data.
In calls to hotels in Hawaii, Boston and San Jose, California, front-desk staff said services such as restaurants and housekeeping were disrupted due to worker shortages on the strike’s second day.
“The hotel is open but it’s very limited workers,” said an employee at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, asking that her name not be used as she was not authorized to speak to press.