Fatima Amahmoud cleans up to 17 rooms per shift at the Moxy hotel in downtown Boston. Sometimes, she feels like the job is impossible.
Once, she found three days’ worth of blond dog fur on curtains, bedspreads, and carpets. She knew she couldn’t finish cleaning the room in the 30 minutes allotted for each room. The dog owner had chosen not to have daily room cleaning, a way for hotels to save money on labor and deal with worker shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unionized housekeepers are fighting to have automatic daily room cleaning restored at major hotel chains. They argue that they have been given too much work, are working fewer hours, and earning less.
The conflict represents the frustration hotel workers face due to working conditions after losing their jobs during the pandemic and returning to an industry with staffing shortages and changing travel patterns.
10,000 hotel workers represented by the UNITE HERE union went on strike at 25 hotels in eight cities. They are demanding higher wages and a return to better service and staffing levels.
Amahmoud, who works at a hotel where workers have authorized a strike but haven’t walked out yet, expressed that the workload was too much for them.
Hyatt is disappointed with the strike because they are willing to negotiate. Hilton, Marriott, and Omni have not given comments on the strikes.
The pandemic has disproportionately affected low-wage women, especially Black and Hispanic women. Hotel workers, who are mostly women of color and immigrants, have faced tough working conditions.
UNITE HERE has had some success in getting better terms for workers through strikes in southern California. They hope to achieve fair compensation and better workload conditions for their members across the country.
The hotel industry is experiencing staffing shortages, with housekeeping being a critical area for hiring. Hotels are trying to attract workers with higher wages and other benefits.
Hotel employees find it difficult to cope with erratic schedules and low pay. They want better wages and working conditions, as seen in ongoing contract negotiations and potential strikes in various cities.
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