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A strike that currently affects 25 hotels in downtown Chicago is the first strike in hotels that the city has known, according to the union that called him.
It began Friday and, according to the union, will continue until the hotels accept its requests.
Here are five things to know.
Who hits?
Hotel employees – housewives, doormen, cooks, bartenders, room service attendants and more – whose contracts expired on August 31 are on strike. The union representing workers, UNITE HERE Local 1, claims that 6,000 workers are covered by these expired contracts, although it is unclear how many people have actually left their jobs.
Which hotels are concerned?
The union called for a strike at 25 hotels in downtown Chicago, including JW Mariott, Palmer House Hilton, Hyatt Regency and Sheraton Grand. But the expired contracts cover 30 hotels, and the five that are not yet on strike are in labor dispute and could join, according to the union. A list of affected hotels can be found on chicagohotelstrike.org.
Why are they hitting?
The first request for strikers is to include a health insurance guarantee in the year in their new contracts. Currently, many hotel employees lose their health insurance when hotels temporarily lay off employees during the low season, usually from October to March, and benefit from reinstatement when they are brought back to work when the time is warming up. Although seniority workers work all year and get insurance all year round, the union wants all employees, regardless of their mandate, to have health insurance. uninterrupted, even during the difficult months.
How does it solve?
The union negotiates contracts with each employer separately. So, theoretically, if an agreement is made with any of the hotels, the workers at this hotel could stop going on strike. But trade union expert Bob Bruno said the most effective and efficient strategy is to ensure that one of the largest employers establish a basic agreement on the issue that others City hotels will follow.
LEARN MORE: Dirty rooms, deadlines for registration, managers changing the sheets: the downtown strike puts the hotels in a dead end "
"The incentive (for the union) is to create a standard for the industry," said Bruno, a professor of labor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "And employers also benefit because they know they are not competing on a cost basis."
Three major hotel groups make up the majority of hotels where workers are on strike. Hilton Hotels and Resorts manages the Palmer House, the DoubleTree Magnificent Mile, the Hilton Chicago and the Drake Hotel. Hyatt Hotels operates the Hyatt Regency Chicago, the Hyatt Recency McCormick and the Park Hyatt. Marriott International's portfolio includes Westin River North, Westin Michigan Avenue, W Chicago Lakeshore, W Chicago City Center, JW Marriott and Sheraton Grand.
What is the response of hotels?
The hotels have assured guests that they are open to business and will continue to provide excellent service. But some guests have reported an eight-hour wait for check-in, long queues at breakfast, and having to fill the towels themselves because there is not enough of people to clean the rooms. The managers said that they rolled up their sleeves to empty the bins and fill the soaps.
The hotels expressed their frustration that the strike took place so early in the contract negotiations. Marriott, for example, said the union is still making its initial bargaining proposal.
"There is nothing about the current state of negotiations or the long-standing and productive bargaining relationship between Marriott International and UNITE HERE that suggests that a strike is warranted or necessary," he said. Marriott in a statement. "The parties are not at a dead end on a subject."
Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton all said they continued to negotiate in good faith.
Twitter @alexiaer
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