Hundreds of trade unionists and several high-profile Massachusetts politicians gathered outside of the Hilton Park Plaza Hotel for the Greater Boston Labor Council’s annual Labor Day breakfast on September 3. Rather than merely celebrating the holiday, the event turned into a large-scale show of support for the close to 1,000 striking hotel workers in Boston. Originally planned to be held in a hotel ballroom, the event was moved outside so attendees could join the picket line rather than crossing it.
Members of Unite/Here Local 26, a Massachusetts union representing hospitality industry workers, marched around the outside of the Hilton throughout the breakfast chanting “Make them pay!” and “If we don’t get it, shut it down!” Some held posters reading “One job should be enough” and “Respect our work,” while others banged drumsticks against buckets to accompany the chants.
“If you ask anyone who's on the picket line today [if] the economy [is] working for them, they'll say that it's not working for them,” Carlos Aramayo, president of Unite Here Local 26, said at the breakfast. “And they'll say the reason it's not working for them is because the hotel industry has nickel and dimed them in these negotiations. They've cut hours, they've cut jobs, and that's why everyone is out here today --- to make them pay.”
The 938 workers who walked out of their jobs at four Boston hotels were part of a nationwide, multi-day strike led by Unite/Here to demand higher wages, fair staffing and workloads, and the reversal of COVID-era cuts to the hotel industry. Just under 10,000 hospitality industry workers nationwide picketed on Labor Day after “months of unresolved negotiations” with Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott, Unite/Here said in a press release.
Angelique Casem & Zeno Minotti - Power At Work
“We’re on strike because one job should be enough. We’re on strike because our members need to be respected at work, particularly after they sacrificed so much during COVID,” Aramayo said.
Employees walked out of Boston’s Fairmont Copley Plaza, Hampton Inn & Homewood Suites by Hilton Boston Seaport, Hilton Boston Logan Airport and the Hilton Boston Park Plaza. Labor Day was the second of the three-day strike and disrupted a busy holiday travel period.
“I currently have to work 10 different positions in the hotel just to get 40 hours a week,” said Michael Correa, an employee of Hilton Logan Airport. “I shouldn’t have to live a life where my daughters are calling me or texting me and saying, ‘Hey, Dad, are we going to see you this week?’ And I have to say, unfortunately, I have to work.”
Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu made speeches at the Labor Day breakfast in support of the strike.
“Local 26, I walked with you in 2018 at the Westin Copley, and I walk the picket line with you again today because one job should be enough,” Warren said, emphasizing the need to pass laws that make organizing easier. “When labor walks a picket line, it’s because you are investing in your future and in America’s future.” Markey thanked the union for their efforts.
Angelique Casem & Zeno Minotti - Power At Work
“The hotels, they brag that they provide top of the line service for their customers, but they provide bottom of the barrel benefits and wages for their workers,” Markey said. “We are going on strike to make sure that we provide those benefits for everyone.”
Representatives from local unions representing health care workers, firefighters, university graduate workers and resident assistants, and teachers also spoke at the breakfast.
Sam Dillon, president of Boston Firefighters Local 718, highlighted the recent passage of a statewide law that will phase out the use of carcinogens and other harmful chemicals in firefighters’ protective gear.
“We are now turning the tide against the number one issue facing firefighters today, which is occupational cancer,” Dillon said. The passage of the law, which was signed by Healey in August, was spearheaded by Local 718 and regional firefighter unions across the state.
Angelique Casem & Zeno Minotti - Power At Work
Labor Day weekend also marked a pivotal moment for health care workers and university employees in the city. Workers at Carney Hospital in Dorchester were left without jobs as the hospital shuttered its doors for the last time on August 31 when the now-bankrupt Steward Health Care said it could not find a buyer for the hospital. Boston University’s resident assistants voted to authorize a strike the same day.
“We were not closed because of the quality of our health care. We were not closed because people didn’t show up and do their jobs,” said Karl Odom, a 1199 SEIU member and employee of Carney Hospital. “We were closed because profit was chosen over the people in our Dorchester community.”
Steward Health Care, a for-profit health care system, confirmed it is the subject of a federal investigation over alleged fraud and corruption, WBUR reported. The company allegedly continued to buy properties outside of Massachusetts even while its in-state hospitals were struggling with adequate staffing and supplies for years. CEO Ralph de la Torre has been accused of using Steward’s bank accounts for personal enrichment, according to a Boston Globe investigation. Laid off workers are demanding Steward pay their accumulated “paid time off” and severance pay. They are also urging state politicians to take action against Steward for its alleged wrongdoing.
“Today is proof that the powers that be can’t hold a candle to the power of the picket line. This Labor Day, it has never been more important to stand up to the biggest enemies of our workers --- corporate greed,” Markey said.
Boston University’s resident assistants joined graduate workers on the picket line after voting to authorize a strike over the weekend following months of failed negotiations. BU’s graduate workers have been on strike since March, marking the longest graduate worker strike in history. Student workers are fighting for higher wages, more manageable workloads, and improved safety measures.
“Labor Day is a day for celebrating working people and all the sacrifices we have made with our lives over the decades to ensure the basic protections we have today: occupational safety and health, a minimum wage, the weekend,” said Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Chrissy Lynch declared. “It's also a day to recommit ourselves and remind ourselves that there is still a lot of work to do, brothers and sisters, to create an economy that works for everybody, not just the rich, not just the powerful.”
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Hotel workers in Boston and other cities that saw strikes on Labor Day returned to their jobs on Wednesday, though about 700 workers in San Diego announced they would remain on the picket line until they secure a contract, according to UniteHere. But the union warned travelers that continued disruptions are possible in all cities where workers are fighting for better working conditions and urged travelers not to “eat, sleep, or meet” at any hotel where workers are or have been on strike.
In her speech, Mayor Wu said Boston is on “the threshold of a historic moment” for the city’s labor movement.
“Boston is, and always will be, a city that knows that labor is never just about dollars and cents, it’s about workers and families,” Wu said. “Know that you will always have a partner in me as we work to make this city a home for everyone, where one job is enough.”
