Seattle Westin (Marriott) hotel workers vote to authorize strike

The following is from UNITE HERE Local 8:

SEATTLE (Sept. 17, 2018) — Workers at the Westin Seattle voted 98% to authorize a strike on Friday, following 22 hotels in five other cities. Strike votes held this week cover more than 8,000 union UNITE HERE workers in Seattle, San Francisco, Waikiki, Maui, Boston, and San Jose.

UNITE HERE represents more than 20,000 Marriott hotel workers across North America, of whom more than 12,000 have had their contracts expire and are locked in ongoing negotiations. Three of the most crucial points of disagreement include the need for Marriott to be a leader in the hospitality industry, and recognize their role as the largest and most profitable hotel company in the world, by offering workers jobs that are enough for them to live on.

Additionally, workers are fighting for improved workplace safety, particularly around unsafe workloads and strenuous physical labor created by the so-called “Green Choice” program, and pioneering job protections around technology and innovation in the hospitality industry.

“Across North America, union workers are ready to fight back against a rigged economy that has left working-class families behind for too long now,” said D. Taylor, international president of UNITE HERE. “UNITE HERE has a proud tradition of refusing to take concessionary contracts and changing lives around the world by raising the standards for union and non-union hospitality workers. Our members are proud of the exceptional guest service they provide the people who stay in our hotels, but 8,000 Marriott workers are ready and prepared to strike to secure their fair share from a highly profitable company receiving major tax handouts from Donald Trump while workers struggle to get by.”

In the coming weeks, hotel workers in additional cities will be announcing dates of more planned strike votes against Marriott.

UNITE HERE Local 8 is the hospitality workers’ union of the Pacific Northwest and represents over 5,000 members working in the hotel, food service, and airport industries in Washington and Oregon, including 400 Marriott workers at the Westin Seattle.  Learn more at www.unitehere8.org.

ALSO at The Stand:

Labor Day protesters to Marriott: One job should be enough! (Sept. 5, 2018) — On Labor Day, hundreds of Marriott hotel workers and their supporters demonstrated in the streets outside of the Westin Seattle and staged a civil disobedience resulting in the arrest of 21 UNITE HERE Local 8 members and supporters, including Jeff Johnson and Lynne Dodson, the executive officers of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO.