Thousands of hotel workers in Boston are poised to go on strike this weekend as their current contracts are set to expire at midnight, with no new negotiations in sight.
The Hilton Boston Park Plaza is among 35 hotels in the area that would be impacted by the strike. A longtime employee at the Hilton told NBC10 Boston that a strike seems inevitable.
As the deadline looms, hotel workers represented by Unite Here Local 26 have been preparing for the possibility of a strike, making signs for the picket line and taking them home in anticipation.
“I held onto hope until the last minute,” said Susie Cuelho, a Hilton employee. “But they haven’t contacted us.”
Cuelho is ready to join over 4,500 hotel workers in Boston and Cambridge in striking. She has worked as an operator at the Boston Logan Airport Hilton for 21 years, but her connection to the hotel runs even deeper.
“When my mom immigrated to this country, she worked here as a housekeeper. She was pregnant with me while working at the hotel, so I’m the Hilton baby. This really breaks my heart,” Cuelho said tearfully.
Cuelho and her fellow workers feel they have no choice but to take action. The union voted overwhelmingly three weeks ago to strike if an agreement with hotel management wasn’t reached by the end of the night on August 31.
The main issues at stake include wages, pensions, work rules, and insurance benefits.
If the strike proceeds, it would be the first regionwide hotel strike in local history, potentially dealing a significant blow to the tourism industry, especially during this holiday weekend.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has expressed her support for the workers, saying, “That is what a vote to strike means. It tells the world that you know who you are and you know what your work is worth.”
After midnight, a strike could be called at any time and at any hotel, with workers ready to walk off the job.
Source: nbcboston.com