Seattle Embassy Suites workers strike

Workers are standing up for fair pay, healthcare, and employer notification if ICE or DHS is on the hotel property

The following is from UNITE HERE Local 8:

SEATTLE, WA (June 18, 2026) — Ahead of the World Cup USA vs. Australia game on Friday, unionized hotel workers are now on strike at Hilton’s Embassy Suites Pioneer Square in downtown Seattle. Embassy Suites sits next to Lumen Field, where the games are being played. UNITE HERE Local 8 members at the hotel are fighting for a new union contract that includes year-round healthcare coverage, protections from ICE, fair raises, and a return to pre-pandemic staffing levels.

“I am striking because I don’t get enough hours, and I don’t make enough money,” says Teresa Joseph, an Embassy Suites restaurant worker and Local 8 union leader. “I don’t have a full eight hours – only six. This isn’t livable within Seattle. I just want to be able to live in the city I work in. I take the metro from Kent every day because I can’t afford to fix my car.”

Photo: UNITE HERE Local 8

Previously at The STAND: Hotel workers take strike vote

Local 8 president Anita Seth made the following statement about the strike: “Hotel workers who are welcoming visitors from around the world to Seattle shouldn’t have to work second and third jobs to support their families or worry about whether they will have healthcare over the slow months in winter. And, as a majority immigrant workforce, they deserve the peace of mind of notification from their employer if ICE or DHS is on property.”

The strike began at 6:30 AM on Thursday, June 18. The union is asking the public not to sleep, eat, or meet at Embassy Suites Pioneer Square until the strike is over. The MLK County Labor Council has also sanctioned the strike. Workers invite community supporters to join them on the picket line at 255 South King Street, Seattle, WA 98104.

TAKE A STAND: Walk the line with UNITE HERE Local 8 members In front of Embassy Suites Pioneer Square (255 South King Street) from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily and donate to the workers’ strike fund.