Join UNITE HERE rally Thursday in Seattle to Come Back Stronger

Rally Oct. 28 at noon at Seattle’s King Street Stadium to support hotel and hospitality workers

Workers’ renewed militancy has made headlines during so-called “Striketober,” and hospitality workers are fighting for a recovery with good jobs under the banner “Come Back Stronger.” Workers in Seattle and 28 other cities across the U.S. and Canada will hold a variety of events on Thursday, Oct. 28 for UNITE HERE’s Come Back Stronger day of action that will include marches, pickets, rallies, a unionization vote, a strike authorization vote, as well as internal events such as meetings with management.

Hotel, casino, and food service workers across the country say their jobs haven’t come back even as business rebounds because employers are taking advantage of the pandemic to cut guest services, increase workloads, introduce automation, and cut jobs. Meanwhile, workers at HelloFresh — the meal kit delivery company that exploded during COVID — will begin voting on forming the booming meal kit industry’s first-ever union. Together, these workers and UNITE HERE are pushing as a union for a recovery where no one gets left behind.

In Seattle, hotel workers and their supporters will rally in support hotel workers in their fight to “Come Back Stronger” from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 28 at King Street Station, 298 S. King St. (on the lower level, on the walkway towards the stadium, near the Embassy Suites Hotel).

TAKE A STAND — All union members are invited and encouraged to attend Thursday’s noontime rally in Seattle. Also, show your solidarity by signing this petition to Hilton urging the company to maintain daily cleaning of their rooms.

Companies like Hilton are announcing cuts that will dramatically eliminate guest services and jobs. During a pandemic, shouldn’t hotels be cleaned and sanitized more, not less?

UNITE HERE’s research shows that ending daily housekeeping would slash jobs and make housekeepers’ workloads even more painful, because rooms are much dirtier after days without cleaning. The union estimates that ending this practice would eliminate up to 39 percent of all U.S. hotel housekeeping jobs and cost housekeepers — overwhelmingly women of color — $4.8 billion in annual lost wages. (Read UNITE HERE’s “Playing Dirty” report to learn more.)

Thankfully, guests are outraged by these service cuts and allies are joining hospitality workers to fight back, so we can all Come Back Stronger from many months of heartbreak and loss. Please sign the petition to Hilton and join UNITE HERE Local 8 members and their supporters at Thursday’s rally in Seattle.

UNITE HERE represents 300,000 working people across Canada and the United States. Its members work in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, transportation, and airport industries. UNITE HERE’s membership is diverse, predominantly women and people of color who hail from all corners of the planet. Together, we are building a movement to enable people of all backgrounds to achieve greater equality and opportunity.