San Francisco Hilton Hotel workers to vote on new contract agreement

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A tentative new contract agreement has been negotiated by Hilton Hotel employees following their 93rd day of striking.

On Tuesday, employees who are members of the Unite Here Local 2 union will vote to approve the agreement. Employees at Marriott and Hyatt signed agreements on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Since the strike started on September 22, San Francisco hotel employees have been manning picket lines for the past three months. In Union Square, workers have been demonstrating loudly and even remaining active outside hotels on Thanksgiving Day.

Employees advised guests who were considering attending the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference at the Westin St. Francis Hotel next month to forego the event earlier this month.

For the past three months, Bill Fung has been on the picket line.

“All day, all night we are on the picket line to fight for our contract,” Fung stated.

Following his 1990 immigration from China, Fung started working as a housekeeper at the Hilton a few years later.

“It has been up and down, up and down, for the past 30 years. “The management is genuinely attempting to exploit us,” Fung stated.

Fung thinks the pandemic made matters worse. He claims that because the hotel consolidated certain jobs and eliminated others, employees now have more duties but receive the same salary.

Regarding the current state of affairs, Fung stated, “A lot of people, they have two jobs, even three jobs to support their family.” “And that was what really exhausts our body.”

Fung and his spouse claim that working two jobs is the only way they can support themselves.

“I have less time with my children,” Fung reported with regret.

A pay raise would allow him to regain some of his time and energy, he hopes.

Ted Waechter, a spokesman for the Unite Here Local 2 union, said that 650 of the approximately 900 workers covered by the tentative deal have been on strike since September. Approximately 250 employees at Hilton’s Parc 55 hotel and the Hilton San Francisco Union Square were among the establishments that were ready to go on strike.

Now that their strike is ended, it’s quieter down the street at the Grand Hyatt.

Edwin Solis, a Hyatt employee, stated, “We can’t believe we were here for three months in a tent, and now no more.” “We are overjoyed. My coworkers are overjoyed.

During the strike, Solis was out picketing. He was able to return to work at the Hyatt on Monday morning.

He expressed his happiness with the new contract to CBS News Bay Area. He said they are getting better wages, improvements to their pension, and most important to him, better healthcare coverage.

“Twice my wife got surgery, and we see the bills and it costs more than $50,000,” Solis added. “I can’t afford it.”

But with his new coverage, he can relax and celebrate the Christmas holiday.

“We can enjoy with our family at this time,” said Solis. “We can buy some gifts for them, for at least my kids and my wife.”

Fung is hopeful the new contract is approved and similar to those ratified by Hyatt and Marriott workers. He said despite it being a difficult time, it was special to see all his co-workers come together.

“It’s really touched my heart,” said Fung. “A lot of people they’re fighting with the same goal as me.”

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