Strike threat looms over Boston hotel sector

Guests at nearly three dozen Boston hotels could experience less-than-desirable visits fueled by staff shortages as early as this weekend should thousands of hospitality workers go on strike due to unsuccessful contract negotiations.

Roughly 4,500 workers who are members of UNITE HERE Local 26 are bracing for strikes across 35 hotels after months of rocky contract negotiations with hotel companies. The workers are shooting for higher wages to keep up with inflation and pandemic-era understaffing that they say has left more work for fewer employees to handle.

"Unless something shifts, I think there will be a significant disruption in the hospitality industry over the fall," Carlos Aramayo, president of UNITE HERE Local 26, told the News Service Wednesday.

The strikes could start at any time and at any hotel once existing contracts expire on Aug. 31, should negotiations fail, including with major companies like Marriott, Hilton and Omni Hotels, Aramayo said. Hotels that could be impacted include the Fairmont Copley Plaza, Westin Copley Place, the Omni Parker House and the Hilton Boston Park Plaza.

"The folks who work in the industry are kind of in a real difficult spot where they're not seeing a fair share of the extraordinary profits that the hotel industry is reaping after COVID," said Aramayo, adding he's not currently optimistic that strikes will be averted.

"We have been in discussion with some of the major, major players in the city who would set a standard for a contract," Aramayo continued. "We are still very, very apart on the core issues that matter for our members."

The union says a strike at Marriott hotels in 2018 lasted 46 days, while a strike at the Battery Wharf Hotel spanned 79 days in 2019.

Local 26 members are using 32BJ SEIU's office in downtown Boston to register for strike pay and picket duty, and to make picket signs.

Meet Boston, formerly known as the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau, declined to answer News Service questions about the potential strike and its impact on the city's hospitality industry. David O'Donnell, vice president of strategic communications, said Meet Boston is "monitoring this situation" but doesn't comment on labor issues. 

Union member William Brown, 25, said he's worked as a houseman for two years at the Omni Boston Seaport, where he helps housekeepers take care of trash and linens. Brown said his hourly wage of $28.15 is not enough to keep up with inflation and provide for his 4-year-old daughter.

"What we get paid is basically check-to-check living," Brown, a Dorchester resident, said. "It's not horrible, but it's not enough for me to save. It's not enough for me to really look forward to buying a house in the future or really plan on saving money to put my daughter in college."

Union members have not been involved in major contract negotiations for six years, a Local 26 spokesperson said. To help with pandemic recovery, the union agreed in 2022 to extend existing contracts for two more years, meaning workers have only received "nominal" wage increases -- but not the larger raises that workers say they need to keep up with rising costs of living, according to the spokesperson.

Local 26 members voted this month to authorize a citywide strike, the potential scope of which the union has called "historic." Members include room attendants, housekeepers, front desk agents, restaurant servers, cooks, dishwashers, bartenders and banquet workers.

A strike could impact visitors attending conventions here and planning to stay at hotels near the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center and the Hynes Convention Center, as well as families helping their kids move into college, the Local 26 spokesperson said.

Susana Coelho, a PBX operator who handles administrative responsibilities at the Hilton Boston Logan Airport, said a strike currently seems likely based on the status of contract negotiations. There are about 180 union members at the hotel.

"I do know that it could last a long time and that's something we are aware of. And although that's not what we want, these companies are forcing us -- they're forcing us to do this, and we're ready," Coelho, 39, said. "We deserve this."

Coelho said she's worked at the hotel for 21 years, and that many of her coworkers are juggling multiple jobs to make ends meet. Coelho, an East Boston resident, said a wage increase would make it possible to resume saving money, support her 21-year-old daughter to go through college, and cover rising grocery costs.

"I got the job at the Hilton because at that point, a union job meant that you were middle-class, you could buy a home, you could support your family," said Coelho, reflecting on what the job meant to her when she was 18 years old. "It was a very respected job."

She added, "We're clearing a path for the future generation of kids who want to have a union job, a stable job, because I haven't felt like that in six years."

Through negotiations, Coelho said she also wants a new contract to incorporate a severance package for workers in case of layoffs, maintain health insurance coverage, and inject more money into their pensions.

At the Omni Boston Seaport, 450 union members could join the looming strike.

"A lot of the people are kind of at a point where we feel like we have no choice but to strike and get what we've been fighting for because we have no other options with the way life has been," Brown said.

Beyond pay issues, Brown said workers are also grappling with understaffing. A hotel with 1,000 rooms typically has about 130 room attendants, while the Omni Boston Seaport has just around 80 attendants, he said.

"A lot of people have been going out on workers comp because their bodies are hurting," Brown said. "I've seen a lot of that in the two years that I've been there."