Hundreds of Hilton Chicago Hotel workers started a three-day strike Saturday that union officials say is in protest of the hotel chains efforts to "lock workers into cheap recession contracts."
Unite Here Local 1 spokeswoman Annemarie Strassel told The Associated Press workers began striking in Chicago early Saturday and wont return to their jobs until early Tuesday. The union represents about 600 workers at the Hilton Chicago downtown. Strassel said the employees have joined striking workers in San Francisco, who went out Wednesday, and in Honolulu, who went out Thursday. The Chicago workers include housekeepers, dishwashers, cooks, bell staff and food servers.
"Hilton wants to lock workers into cheap recession contracts even as the hotels rebound," she said early Sunday in a phone interview. "Workers simply want a share in the recovery." It could not immediately reach hotel officials. But Hilton Chicago told the Chicago Tribune that the hotel is "operating as normal."
"Union tactics such as work stoppages and demonstrations will do nothing to bring us closer to a new contract," Hilton said in a statement. "They are harmful to employees, to the hospitality industry and to the City of Chicago." Hilton said the wages and benefits its workers receive are "competitive" and that it offered wage increases and other advantages during negotiations.