Contract Negotiations Resume After Strike

Omni managers met with union leaders and workers in a second-floor conference room at the downtown hotel Wednesday to continue negotiating a new contract — and to try to avoid another workplace walkout.

Those negotiations took place three days after the hotel’s union, represented by UNITE HERE Local 217, led a four-day strike to protest for better wages, healthcare, and pensions. The union represents 120 hotel workers, including bellhops, room cleaners, cooks, and others.

The union’s last contract expired in March. After striking from Thursday morning through Sunday evening, union workers returned to their jobs on Monday. The hotel stayed open to guests over the course of the strike, reportedly with the help of temp workers.

Contract negotiations resumed Wednesday morning in a meeting room just out of sight on the Omni’s second floor, behind unmarked doors down an empty hallway. While hotel guests walked in and out of the nearby banquet room to eat breakfast, union reps (including Local 217 Secretary-Treasurer Josh Stanley and organizer Isadora Milanez) met with Omni department representatives in private.

The Independent spoke with two employees who asked to remain anonymous. One, who worked on the second floor, sported a Local 217 pin — bright yellow against their black uniform. They were excited for the negotiations, after striking this past week.

“It shouldn’t take you this long to settle,” the employee said. ​“With the skills that we have and offer, we don’t call in often, we just don’t understand why they’re not with us.”

The second employee shared that there is a rating system for hotel guests to use after their stay. They noted that the reviews left throughout the strike were less than optimal, especially those related to a wedding reception held at the hotel on Sunday, the last day of the strike. According to that employee, reviewers reported that the amenities that were usually offered to the wedding guests, such as gift bags, were not provided due to staff capacity.

“I’ve been here for more than 20 years, and we do a good job,” that employee said. ​“There’s no way you can do this without us.”

In an email statement, UNITE HERE Local 34 spokesperson Ian Dunn wrote that the negotiations between Local 217 and Omni management are ongoing, and noted that they will not issue updates until there is a ​“significant development.” The statement urged travelers to avoid staying at hotels where there are active strikes.

​“Negotiations are ongoing, and more strikes are possible at any time should issues remain unresolved,” Dunn wrote.

Omni management did not respond to a request for comment by the publication time of this story.