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Hotel workers flood San Francisco City Hall amid strike

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Hotel workers flood San Francisco City Hall amid strike


Hundreds of hotel workers at City Hall in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. They have been on strike for several weeks (Unite Here Local 2 Union via Bay City News

Hundreds of hotel workers showed up to a San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, urging the board to push their hotel management to negotiate a fair contract after several weeks of being on strike.

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From Honolulu to Boston, thousands of hotel employees across the country have been picketing since last month as major hotel corporations, including Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt, negotiate with the Unite Here union that represents the majority of those chains’ hotel workers. The Unite Here Local 2 chapter, which represents over 15,000 hospitality workers in San Francisco, is leading the strike that started Sept. 22. 

Workers with three major hotels in the city, Hilton San Francisco Union Square, Grand Hyatt San Francisco and Marriott’s Westin St. Francis, say that the higher-ups of the hotels are cutting costs at the expense of employees and hotel guests and want to remove their health insurance.

Board president Aaron Peskin called for a special hearing that took place at Tuesday’s board meeting so hotel workers could explain why they are on strike and describe their working conditions.

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“For the past two weeks, hotel workers have been protesting against painful workloads and wages that aren’t enough to afford the cost of living and affordable health care,” Peskin said. 

Anand Singh, a negotiator for the union, explained what led to the strike.

Dozens of hotel workers at City Hall in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. They have been on strike for several weeks. (Unite Here Local 2 Union via Bay City News)

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Since April, the union has been trying to make a deal with the hotels on a new contract that expired at the end of August. With no progress made, workers have walked off the job in the fight for a fair contract that includes better wages, health insurance, a reversal of COVID-19 pandemic-era job cuts and restoring fair staffing minimums to resolve being overworked, Singh said. 

“The typical Local 2 member earns about $53,000 per year. But combine that salary with comprehensive health care coverage, retirement benefits and workplace protections and that’s been the basis for sustaining thousands of families in San Francisco for many years,” Singh said. “All of that is at stake right now in this moment.” 

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Many San Francisco hotel workers are demanding higher salaries in order to live where they work, saying that they can barely afford to live in the city. 

“Hotels grow their profits and every few years, the industry’s deal with hotel employees in this city comes up for renegotiation,” said Lizzy Tapia, president of the union. “The big hotel companies, Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt in particular, are taking advantage of that moment to lock in wages that are very far below the cost of living.”

Micheal D’Angelo, head of labor relations for the Americas region of Hyatt, denied the allegations that Hyatt is negotiating an unfair contract.

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“We have offered competitive wages, health care and retirement benefits at the hotel that is on strike at this time,” he said in a statement. 

“We are disappointed that Unite Here Local 2 continues to strike while Hyatt remains willing to continue bargaining in good faith,” D’Angelo said. “Colleague benefits and wages remain unchanged as we negotiate a new agreement. We look forward to continuing to negotiate fair contracts and recognize the contributions of Hyatt employees.”

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Dozens of hotel workers on strike spoke at Tuesday’s meeting to describe why they are on strike, asking for support from the board. The majority of them were immigrants who have worked at the hotels for multiple decades.

Hotel workers from the Grand Hyatt Union Square hotel on strike in San Francisco, Calif. on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (Unite Here Local 2 Union via Bay City News)

Jennifer Huang has been working at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square hotel for almost 30 years. She is a member of the union and joined the strike to demand a pay raise and good health care coverage in the new contract. 

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“The land, the living costs and the significant inflation has increased over years, so I need a wage increase so that my family can continue (to) stay in stay in San Francisco,” she said at the board meeting. “Sometimes I think I might need to leave the city because I can barely afford it.” 

Another primary grievance from the hotel workers is that upper management from the three major hotel corporations does not want to commit to providing quality health insurance in the contract. 

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“I’m on strike because I will not let the Hilton take away our health care,” said John Elrod, a bartender at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square. “They play games with the insurance we rely on. Even though I worked enough hours to qualify, I recently went five consecutive months without health care coverage because the employer did not make the contribution to the fund. I was forced to cut my pills, my medication, in half, so I could make it until my health insurance got restored. It was a very harrowing experience.”

When the pandemic hit, hotel corporations cut staffing levels. However, these cuts have continued and staffing minimums never returned to pre-pandemic levels, leading to remaining employees being overworked and lower quality service to guests, Tapia said. 

“Every time there’s a downturn, we’ve seen hotel owners get more and more aggressive about trying to lock in the reduced staffing levels,” Singh said. “Even when business comes back, they reduce service levels and try to persuade customers to accept less cleaning, fewer amenities, less of everything, all while continuing to pay high room prices. The short-term profit that they seek threatens the reputation of hotels with their own customers over the long term.”

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Bill Fung has been working as a carpet cleaner at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square hotel for about 30 years. As the only carpet cleaner, he has been tasked to shampoo all of the carpets in each of the hotel’s three buildings, a job that was previously divided between three cleaners. 

Hotel workers from the Grand Hyatt Union Square hotel on strike in San Francisco, Calif. on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (Unite Here Local 2 Union via Bay City News)

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“Our hotel has three buildings, almost 2,000 rooms. Before the pandemic, they had three shampoo persons to take care of the carpets. But after the pandemic, they cut two people and forced me to clean the entire hotel: rooms, hallways, offices and public areas all by myself.” 

Supervisor Myrna Melgar agreed that service at hotels has been lackluster while recounting her experience staying at a hotel in Napa Valley.

“About three months ago, my husband and I went to Napa. We stayed at a hotel and paid so much money for one night,” she said. “When we got there, the spa was closed and the things that were advertised on the website for all of the money we paid for were not quite there. I was so enraged … our industry has cut all these corners during the pandemic at the expense of the workers but also at the expense of consumers.” 

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In July 2020, the board unanimously passed an emergency ordinance to establish minimum cleaning standards for hotels to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, Singh said that this requirement has not been sufficiently met.

“In the years that these rules have been in existence, it’s been very hard to enforce them,” Singh said. “Because enforcement is very rare, the law doesn’t mean anything if there’s no way to hold employers accountable for that. We’re especially seeing that with the cutting of staff after the pandemic. Hotels are not clean the way they should be. They’re not clean the way they used to be.”

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The dozens of speeches of the hotel workers appeared to resonate with multiple members of the Board of Supervisors. Some of them have also joined them on the ground to participate in the strikes and show their support.

“Hotel owners, listen up, these workers and this Board of Supervisors are standing hand in hand,” said Supervisor Hillary Ronen. “You’re not going to continue to operate in San Francisco if you don’t respect our laws and respect our workers.”

Several supervisors committed to fully supporting the strike until a fair contract is accepted by the hotels. 

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“The major hotel corporations absolutely need to just come to the table,” Supervisor Dean Preston said. “Do right by your workers. Stop whining. We will be out there supporting the workers as long as it takes.”

 



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San Francisco, CA

San Francisco hotel workers agree pay rise after 3-month strike

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San Francisco hotel workers agree pay rise after 3-month strike


What’s New

Hilton hotel workers in San Francisco voted on Christmas Eve to approve a new union contract after a 93-day strike, according to the Unite Here Local 2 union.

The union, which represents about 15,000 workers in the region, announced that the deal settles the last of the city’s 2024 hotel strikes, covering approximately 900 Hilton workers.

Newsweek has contacted Unite Here Local 2 and Hilton via email for comment.

San Francisco Union Square Hilton Hotel workers strike on September 3, 2024. Workers voted on Christmas Eve to approve a new union contract after a 93-day strike, according to the Unite Here Local 2 union.

Justin Sullivan/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Why It Matters

The new contracts after this year’s strikes establish significant improvements in wages, health care and workload protections for workers at Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott-operated hotels.

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The agreements conclude months of labor unrest that involved thousands of workers and disrupted San Francisco’s hotel industry.

What To Know

Hilton workers voted 99.4 percent in favor of the agreement on Christmas Eve, which includes a $3 per hour immediate wage increase, additional raises, and protections against understaffing and increased workloads.

The four-year contract preserves affordable union health insurance and provides pension increases. The deal covers workers at Hilton San Francisco Union Square and Parc 55, with 650 workers having actively participated in the strike.

This agreement follows similar contracts reached with Hyatt workers on Friday and Marriott workers last Thursday, covering a total of 2,500 workers who had been on strike since late September.

What People Are Saying

Bill Fung, a housekeeping attendant at Hilton San Francisco Union Square for 29 years, said: “These 93 days have not been easy, and I’m so proud that my coworkers and I never gave up. We stood together through the rain and cold, and even though there were some hard days, it was all worth it. We will go back to work with our health care, good raises, and the confidence of knowing that when we fight, we win.”

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Lizzy Tapia, President of Unite Here Local 2, said: “Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott workers refused to give up their health care or go backwards – and we proved on the picket line that we’re not afraid of a tough fight. As contract talks begin with the city’s other full-service hotels in the new year, they should know that this is the new standard they must accept for their own employees.”

San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie said on X: “All those that have been out on strike will be back to work, and just in time for Christmas. So, things are looking bright as we head into 2025.

What Happens Next

Unite Here Local 2 said it would push for other full-service hotels in San Francisco to adopt the same standards established by the Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott agreements when contract negotiations resume in 2025.



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San Francisco, CA

San Francisco hotel workers approve new contract, ending 3-month strike

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San Francisco hotel workers approve new contract, ending 3-month strike


SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Hilton hotel workers who have been on strike for the past three months voted Tuesday to approve a new union contract.

The approval by Unite Here Local 2 in San Francisco settles the last of three hotel strikes in San Francisco this year, union officials said.

The strikes at Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton hotels throughout the city began in the fall. Marriott workers reached agreements on Thursday, with Hyatt doing the same on Friday.

San Francisco Hyatt Hotel union workers unanimously approve new contract

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The Hilton agreement is the same as those ratified by striking Hyatt and Marriott workers last week, according to Ted Waechter, spokesperson for the Unite Here Local 2 union.

The agreement applies to about 900 workers, 650 of which have been on strike for over three months, according to Waechter. The hotels include the Hilton San Francisco Union Square and about 250 workers at Hilton’s Parc 55 hotel, who had been prepared to go on strike.

All the deals with hotels include keeping the workers’ health plan, wage increases, and protections against understaffing and workload increases.

Many of the 2,500 hotel workers had been striking for about 93 days, picketing daily in Union Square, which is the site of a Hilton and the nearby Grand Hyatt on Stockton Street.

SF Hyatt Hotel union workers on strike to vote on ratifying tentative agreement for new contract

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“These 93 days have not been easy, and I’m so proud that my coworkers and I never gave up,” said Bill Fung, a housekeeping attendant at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square for 29 years. “We stood together through the rain and cold, and even though there were some hard days, it was all worth it. We will go back to work with our health care, good raises, and the confidence of knowing that when we fight, we win.”

Hilton media representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie on Tuesday issued a statement welcoming an end to the strike, saying it came just in time for the holiday season and allows workers to return to work for key events such as the JP Morgan Health Care Conference and NBA All-Star Game.

Unite Here Local 2 represents about 15,000 hotel, airport and food service workers in San Francisco and San Mateo counties and represented the striking hotel workers.

Copyright 2024 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, re-transmission or reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. Is prohibited.

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San Francisco, CA

San Francisco Giants Gold Glove Catcher Projected For Huge Season

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San Francisco Giants Gold Glove Catcher Projected For Huge Season


The San Francisco Giants have made some huge offseason moves already and hope they aren’t done just yet, but as is the case for every team that doesn’t win the World Series, the most important development will have to come from within.

One player who took a huge step from 2023 to 2024 and will try to improve even further in 2025 is Giants catcher Patrick Bailey. After a beyond solid rookie season in 2023 in which he finished in the top-ten for the National League Rookie of the Year, Bailey won a Gold Glove in 2024.

While the offensive output was similar to his rookie season and not anything to write home about, there’s confidence the bat will come along for the 25-year-old.

In an article naming breakout stars in 2024 who are due for a huge season in 2025, Bailey was one of the first names mentioned by Will Leitch of MLB.com.

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“Bailey led all players in Statcast’s fielding run value metric (plus-22), and FanGraphs, which factors pitch framing into its WAR calculation, had Bailey third among catchers with 4.3 WAR,” Leitch wrote. “At age 25, Bailey already has won as many Gold Gloves as Posey — now his team’s president of baseball operations — did over his whole career.”

Leitch pointed out that Bailey has established himself to be San Francisco’s catcher of the future, something that seems undeniable at this point. If the former first-round pick can develop his bat to the point where he is hitting at least close to the same rate as he was raking in the minor leagues, he will have a chance to become one of the best catchers in baseball.

Through 218 games over his first two seasons in MLB, Bailey has posted a batting average of .234, an OPS of .640, slugged .348, and has hit 15 home runs and 94 RBIs. Certainly not numbers that will blow you away at the plate, but his defense has more than made up for it and allowed the Giants to be patient with his bat.

In 193 minor league games since being drafted No. 13 overall in 2020, Bailey hit .251 across all levels and had an OPS of .779. He also showed an encouraging level of power with 25 home runs, but has struggled to replicate that in the big leagues thus far.

Having already established himself to be one of the best in the game on defense, Bailey will have a chance in 2025 to enter the upper echelon of catchers across the game if he can have the breakout season he appears poised to.

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