America’s massive hotel strike just got even bigger

Baltimore hotel workers are joining a massive nationwide strike against three major hotel chains during one of the biggest travel holidays of the year.

Baltimore hotel workers are joining a massive nationwide strike against three major hotel chains during one of the biggest travel holidays of the year. Unite Here, the union representing hotel workers, said approximately 200 hotel workers walked off the job in Baltimore at the Hilton Inner Harbor this morning. Hotel union workers are now on strike at hotels across 9 US cities. As many as 10,200 hotel workers at 25 hotels stretching from Boston to the West Coast to Hawaii went on strike starting early Sunday morning. But, as planned, more than 1,500 went back to work Tuesday. “I walked out today because we just cannot keep working paycheck to paycheck, not able to pay our bills,” Jerome Roberts, a dishwasher at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor said in a statement. “Going on strike is hard, but not nearly as hard as trying to get by on what we are getting paid. We told the bosses in our negotiations how much we are struggling right now but they didn’t care. We are on strike to make them pay.” Workers say they want higher pay, better conditions and more staff to help. The union is asking for a restoration of many of the pandemic-era cuts that hotels made, including daily room cleaning. The union says the travel and hotel industries have recovered from the pandemic but worker salaries have not reflected the comeback. The hotels are reportedly still open but guests are contending with a skeleton staff unable to provide full services.