Boston Marriott Hotel Strike: Workers Walk Off Job

BACK BAY, MA — About 1,500 workers at seven Marriott International hotels in Boston went on strike Wednesday, marking the first hotel strike in the city's history, according to the union representing the workers.

The workers include housekeepers, bartenders, cooks and dishwashers from the Ritz Carlton, the Sheraton Boston and the Westin Copley Place, according to officials from the Unite Here Local 26 union.

Outside the Sheraton hotel, which is a Marriott property, situated on Belvidere in the Back Bay, more than 100 workers marched holding signs and drumming on buckets. Many of them said they'd worked for the Sheraton for decades, but in recent years had hours cut back and benefits stripped.

One major complaint was the Green Choice program at the hotel. The program is one where guests can opt-out of a room cleaning under the auspices of being better for the environment. However those on strike said the program actually hurt employees and had no benefit to the environment.

"Other than cans and bottles they don't recycle anything. It has nothing to do with being green. It has to do with saving money for the hotel and laying people off," said Jodi Payne, who has worked with the hotel for 20 years.

Payne said when maids don't clean a room each day it makes more work for them when the guest leaves, but they still have the same amount of time to do the work. It also means fewer hours for the maids, and fewer hours could mean a loss of access to insurance.

"There are people who have worked here for more than 20 years who now have lost their health insurance," said Kerrie Safran, who works at the Sheraton.

The union strike is about making sure people who work are treated fairly, she said.

"I am striking because I have to work three jobs to try and cover all my family’s expenses," said Brooke Melanson, a bartender at the Westin Boston Waterfront, in a news release.

The workers’ union voted last month to authorize the strike and are asking for wages that allow them to live in Boston.

"Marriott has forced this strike. After 5 years of record profits and more than 6 months of contract talks Marriott still doesn’t get it," said union President Brian Lang in a release."It’s our work that creates the great experience for the hotel guests. We are the reason that they keep coming back. Our demand is modest and fair, One Job Should be Enough."

Marriott representatives said they were disappointed.

“We are disappointed that Unite Here has chosen to resort to a strike at this time. Marriott’s current economic proposal matches the economic terms in the parties’ last contract, which included the largest increases in the parties’ bargaining history," a spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Patch. "We have not proposed any changes to our associates’ health, welfare or retirement benefits. During the strike our hotels are open, and we stand ready to provide excellent service to our guests. While we respect our associates’ rights to participate in this work stoppage, we also will welcome any associate who chooses to continue to work.”

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Photo by Jenna Fisher, Patch