Hotel Del Coronado workers vote ‘yes’ to authorize strike: what this means

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Over 800 Hotel Del Coronado workers held a strike authorization vote , with 95% voting “yes,” the UNITE HERE Local 30 union announced Saturday.

A number of greeters, concierge staff, housekeepers, front desk agents, cooks, stewards, dishwashers, servers, bussers, bartenders, bellmen, engineers, phone operators, doormen and valet workers all showed overwhelming support for the move.

This means the union’s negotiating committee now has the authority to call a strike at any time after the contract expires on Oct. 31, so this isn’t something that will happen immediately.

The employees are advocating for increased wages and improved workloads, emphasizing that the hotel has failed to respond to their requests for negotiation dates. Should a strike occur, these workers would join more than 700 employees from the Hilton San Diego Bayfront , who have been striking since Sept. 1 over similar concerns.

“Respect Our Work” and “Respect Our Guests” are the rallying cries from the hotel workers, who are pushing for a reversal of COVID-era cuts they say have resulted in increased workloads and decreased staffing levels.

With the U.S. hotel industry experiencing a 26.63% rise in gross operating profit in 2022 compared to 2019, workers argue that their wages and working conditions have not kept pace with industry profits. As explained by the union, many hotels have retained pandemic-era service reductions, including understaffing and the elimination of automatic daily housekeeping.

The union says that addressing these issues is not just about fair pay but also about maintaining quality service and ensuring a positive experience for hotel guests.

Hotel Del Coronado is managed by Hilton. FOX 5/KUSI has reached out to the multinational hospitality company for comment, though no response was provided at the time of publication.

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