Striking Marriot workers reach agreement in principle with hotel, union says

The 46-day strike at seven Boston Marriott hotels is expected to end after the workers spoke Saturday afternoon about an agreement in principle reached late Friday between their union and the hotel chain.

The union, Unite Here Local 26, refused to disclose details of the deal until the other 5,000 Marriott workers on strike in San Francisco and two locations in Hawaii settled their contracts. In all, 8,000 Marriott employees left work this fall and agreements were reached in four other cities – Detroit, San Jose, Oakland and San Diego.

"The battle was very tough and it was driven by the determination, courage, intelligence and courage of the members here in Boston," said Brian Lang, president of Local 26. "Marriott has been listening to the end, and they have agreed and signed a contract that will set a new standard for hotel workers in this city. "

In a statement to the Globe early Saturday afternoon, Marriott officials confirmed that a tentative agreement had been reached.

"We are looking forward to welcoming our employees to work," said a spokesperson in an email.

The Agreement-in-Principle addresses all issues raised by the union regarding wages, job security, schedules, schedules, accommodation for pregnancy, protection from harassment sex and technology, said Lang.

The work stoppage was the city's first major strike in modern history, affecting 1,500 employees, from servants to bartenders to doormen, to seven hotels, including the Ritz-Carlton Boston, Sheraton Boston and Westin Copley Place. The Boston workers, who went on strike on October 3, were the first Marriott employees to leave the country.

Local 26 will use the Marriott contract as the basis for its negotiations with the rest of the Boston area union hotels – there are 32 in total – some have already stated that they would accept the same terms and conditions.

As for the workers who will be voting this afternoon, "They have been completely underrated," Lang said. "They are at the top of the world."

Katie Johnston can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @ktkjohnston. John Hilliard can be contacted at [email protected].