In the current labor dispute between hotel workers and major hotel chains, unionized housekeepers are fighting to restore automatic daily room cleaning, a practice that has been cut back during the COVID-19 pandemic as a cost-saving measure. Hotel workers across various cities, represented by UNITE HERE, have authorized strikes to demand higher wages and reverse service and staffing cuts. The pandemic has disproportionately affected low-wage women, particularly Black and Hispanic women, who are overrepresented in front-facing service jobs like hospitality.
The U.S. hotel industry, which employs about 1.9 million people, has experienced chronic staffing shortages with nearly 90% of building housekeepers being women. UNITE HERE is advocating for fair compensation for service workers, particularly women of color, aiming to close the employment gap between women with and without college degrees. The recent success in securing wage increases for housekeepers in southern California has spurred efforts to improve conditions for hotel workers in other cities.
Hotel associations claim that hotels are offering competitive wages and increasing wages to attract workers. However, hotel workers like Maria Mata, a housekeeper at the W Hotel in San Francisco, struggle with inconsistent hours and low pay. The issue of daily room cleaning has been a point of contention, with guests opting out due to misconceptions about making housekeepers’ jobs easier. As the U.S. hotel industry rebounds post-pandemic, the battle over working conditions for hotel workers wages on, with UNITE HERE leading the charge for better compensation and labor standards.
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