Bay Area Marriott Workers Strike Spreads To Hawaiian Resorts
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A Marriott workers strike that began last week in the San Francisco Bay Area has now spread to resort hotels in Honolulu and Maui, union organizers announced Monday.
Local 2 said 2,700 workers were walking off the jobs in Hawaii on Monday, joining the nearly 2,500 Marriott workers who walked off the job last week in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose.
"Our strike on Marriott is already the biggest hotel worker's strike this city (San Francisco) has seen in decades - and now that Marriott workers in Hawaii have also walked off the job," said union president Anand Singh.
Union leaders said Marriott hotels in Boston, Detroit and San Diego have also been struck. A strike has been authorized in Seattle. In San Francisco, the hotels struck include the Ritz-Carlton, the St. Regis, the Palace Hotel, the W Hotel and the Marriott Marquis.
The strike came after months of negotiations for job security, a wage increase and what unions call work overloads. Workers also want a voice in deciding how technology can be used to improve jobs rather than eliminate them.
Maryland-based Marriott said its proposal matches the "economic terms" of the last contract and does not propose any benefit changes.
"During the strike our hotels are open, and we stand ready to provide excellent service to our guests," the company said in a statement. "While we respect our associates' rights to participate in this work stoppage, we also will welcome any associate who chooses to continue to work."
Peter Chaffo, a banquet service worker at San Francisco's Palace Hotel, said he was striking to demand that Marriott does not cut workers' hours and health benefits as it he said it has proposed.
The union and the company declined to discuss specifics of the negotiations and proposals.
