by Mark Carney
Hotel Hilton workers march on strik in San Francisco.
Approximately 850 San Francisco hotel workers began a six-day strike of the Hilton Union Square on Wednesday, Oct. 13, in response to efforts by Hilton Worldwide to reduce employee benefits and increase workload. The hotel workers, belong to Local 2, a union of 9,000 members, and many are Latinos and Asians.
The strike has irritated some guests, like Colin Smith, who noted that there was no room service or janitors. Hilton general manager, Michael Dunne, insists, on the contrary, that the 1,902 room hotel is “operating normally and is fully operational.”
Unite Here, the nationwide coaltion of unionized hotel workers to which Local 2 belongs, is also currently striking Hilton properties in Chicago and in Oahu, Hawaii.
Hilton Worldwide is owned by Blackstone, a private equity firm which manages more than $100 billion in assets, and which recently had over $180 million in debt to the Federal Reserve forgiven.
The strike is due to end on Tuesday, Oct. 19.
