About 500 workers at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis Hotel went on strike Sunday morning, union officials said.
The San Francisco Marriott Marquis Hotel workers joined workers at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco, Hilton San Francisco Union Square, Marriott Union Square, Palace Hotel and Westin St. Francis, where workers represented by Unite Here Local 2 are already on strike.
Local 2 officials said in a press release that the strike now includes 2,500 housekeepers, bellhops, cooks, dishwashers, servers, bartenders, and more. The strike has been going on since September 22, according to Ted Waechter, a spokesman for the union.
"Today is day one of the strike here at the Marriott Marquis. We have been on strike at five other hotels, some of them for up to 64 days," said Lizzy Tapia, president of Local 2. We are escalating the fight. We now have 2,500 workers out on strike, and one of our biggest issues is healthcare."
Contracts for employees including housekeepers, bellhops, cooks, dishwashers, servers and bartenders expired at the end of August. Workers' demands include better wages, affordable health care and the restoration of jobs cut during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The hotels should be partners with us in bringing business back to San Francisco," Tapia said.
Marriott told NBC Bay Area it will remain open as workers strike.
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“The hotel remains open and we have well-established protocols in place to operate and take care of guests in the event of any impact to staffing. We remain available to meet with the local union negotiating committee to reach an agreement that is fair to all parties.”
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