The UNITE HERE labor union rolled out travel advisories on Marriott hotels in eight American cities, where contracts have either expired or are set to, for over 12,000 unionized workers.
According to a UNITE HERE press release, published on July 9, 2018, union contracts for Marriott hotels in Boston, Detroit, Oakland, San Diego, San Jose, Seattle and various locations in Hawaii have expired. Union contracts for seven Marriott hotels in San Francisco are set to expire on August 15.
The travel advisories were announced as a warning to those who work with and/or plan on visiting the hotels, as well as the hotels themselves, that a labor dispute looms if the groups cannot come to an agreement.
UNITE HERE launched a centralized travel alert site, www.MarriottTravelAlert.org, where “travelers, meeting planners and groups” can monitor the status of disputes at Marriott hotels in each city.
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The site also includes contract language for meeting planners to consider using in the event of a labor dispute and a pledge for customers to sign committing to honor any boycott or strike that might arise. The pledge also ties into the fight for stronger sexual harassment protections at Marriott hotels.
UNITE HERE announced the travel advisories one week after unionized Marriott workers staged demonstrations at hotels across the country advocating for new contracts “with jobs that [pay] enough to support families, safer workloads for workers and comprehensive sexual harassment protections.”
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The labor union was also a key player, alongside Culinary Workers Local 226 (an affiliate of UNITE HERE), in contract negotiations with various properties across Las Vegas, some of which are still ongoing.
UNITE HERE represents 270,000 members working in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, transportation and airport industries in the U.S. and Canada.
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