Since the Labor Day holiday in early September, waves of strikes have hit hotels across the U.S., with hotel workers walking off the job demanding better pay and working conditions.
Here's a look at how the strikes have evolved since they kicked off with that national strike weekend.
Editor's note: Updated on Nov. 15 to include news on union activity between Oct. 18 and Nov. 13.
Aug. 29: Hospitality union Unite Here announces workers across 12 cities have authoritized strikes at Hilton, Hyatt Hotels Corp., Marriott International and Omni Hotels & Resorts properties. The cities with authorized strikes include Baltimore; Boston; Honolulu and Kauai, Hawaii; Greenwich and New Haven, Connecticut; Oakland; Providence, Rhode Island; San Diego; San Francisco; San Jose; and Seattle. Union officials say workers are looking for "higher wages, fair staffing and workloads, and the reversal of COVID-era cuts."
Sept. 1: About 10,000 workers across the country go on a short-term strike for the Labor Day weekend. Workers at 25 hotels in Boston, Greenwich, Honolulu, Kauai, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle strike for just the weekend before returning to work.
Sept. 4: Roughly 600 hotel workers at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront extend their strike, promising to be on the picket line "until they win their contract."
Sept. 11: About 150 employees at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel authorize a strike. The union contract at that hotel expired on June 30.
Sept. 12: Workers in Boston and New Haven return to the picket line, with workers in Boston — including the Dagny Boston, the Newbury Boston, Moxy Boston Downtown and W Boston — saying they will strike for three days. Union members in New Haven do not announce a timeline.
Workers claim the high cost of living in the city are making working at their current wages untenable.
Sept. 19: Strikes grow in Boston with workers at Omni Parker House, Omni Boston Seaport, Renaissance Boston Seaport and Westin Boston Seaport walking off the job for three days. Workers in San Diego remain on strike.
Sept. 22: Strikes begin in San Francisco, affecting 1,500 workers who promise to remain on strike until they receive a new contract.
Sept. 24: Honolulu's Hilton Hawaiian Village becomes the latest property impacted by strikes when about 2,000 workers walk off the job at Hawaii's largest hotel.
Guests at the property were woken up to the sounds of "drum beats, whistles and chants," according to the Associated Press.
Sept. 27: New contracts are announced for workers at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich and the Omni Providence Hotel. Union officials say the deals include "wage increases and more affordable health care." Roughly 4,000 hotel workers remain on strike across the country.
Oct. 4: Workers at Hotel del Coronado vote 95% in favor of a strike authorization.
Oct. 6: About 600 more workers walk out in Boston, this time from the Hilton Boston Park Plaza.
A spokeperson for Hilton tells news outlets: “The union has chosen to pull our team members out on strike and while we do not believe the union’s decision to strike is in the best interests of our team members, we respect their right to do so in a peaceful and lawful manner.”
Oct. 9: After 38 days on strike, workers at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront ratify a new four-year contract. In all, 94% of union members approve the deal, which includes "improvements to workloads, anti-harassment language, changes to tip/gratuity policies for restaurant and banquet workers and enhanced paid time off and holidays."
Oct. 12: Seattle joins the ranks of markets impacted by strikes, as 374 workers from the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Seattle Airport and Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center begin a week-long strike.
Oct. 14: Another 700 workers begin striking in Boston, bringing the total of striking hotel workers in the city up to nearly 1,300 with a total of 5,060 across the country.
Meanwhile, in Hawaii, guests' frustrations boil over at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, where groups in swimsuits chant for refunds amid complaints about a lack of service and a lack of notification about the strike.
Update (Nov. 15)
Oct. 18: Strikes expand in San Francisco as 120 workers from the Marriott Union Square walk off the job, bringing the total to 1,600 hotel workers on strike in the market.
Oct. 21: Workers from two Boston Omni Hotels & Resorts properties announce a new deal after less than a week on strike. In all, 685 workers from the Omni Parker House and the Omni Boston Seaport ratify a new contract that provides "non-tipped workers a $10 per hour raise over the next four years and tipped workers a $5 per hour raise" along with improvements to health care benefits and severance language.
At the same time, strikes expand in San Francisco yet again, with more than 300 employees from Marriott's Palace Hotel bringing the total number of striking hotel workers in that city to nearly 2,000.
Oct. 28: Labor union Unite Here launches a website for guests unhappy about experiences at striking hotels to share reviews called hotelstrikereviews.org.
Oct. 31: More deals are announced, this time for workers and properties in San Jose and Boston. The new contracts are for workers at the DoubleTree by Hilton San Jose and the Signia Hilton San Jose, which collectively had 650 workers do a three-day Labor Day strike, and the Hilton Boston Logan Airport and Hilton Boston Park Plaza, where 765 workers were on strike for 24 days.
News reports indicate the terms of the deal for Boston workers mirror those seen at the nearby Omni hotels.
On the same day, union officials announce 85 striking workers in San Francisco were arrested during what they described as "a non-violent civil disobedience."
Nov. 4: A deal is announced for almost 2,000 workers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, who had been on strike for 40 days. The deal marks a milestone as it represents the single largest group of striking workers from a single property, the largest hotel in Hilton's portfolio and the largest hotel in Hawaii.
Nov. 13: Workers at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas threaten to strike ahead of the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix. Roughly 700 members of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 say they could walk off the job ahead of the major event with their previous contract having expired in June 2024.
Hotel officials issue a statement noting: “While we value the negotiation process, the union has yet to cooperate with our attempts to reach a good-faith agreement.”
The strike is expected to start Nov. 15.