UNITE HERE Local 2 Hotel Workers Reach Tentative Agreement with Marriott

After More than Two Months on Strike, Historic Deal Sets New Standard for San Francisco Hotel Industry 

San Francisco, Calif.–After more than two months on strike, nearly 2,500 UNITE HERE Local 2 hotel workers reached a tentative agreement on a new contract with Marriott last night. The historic deal includes life-changing wage standards, affordable health care coverage, job security protections, and relief from unsafe workloads. The tentative agreement ends the longest large-scale work stoppage that San Francisco’s hotel industry has seen in decades. Pending a ratification vote that is now underway, hotel workers will return to work on Wednesday, 63 days after the strike began under the slogan, “one job should be enough.” 

Media are invited to attend the ratification vote count and announcement of results at 6:00pm. Please confirm to twaechter@unitehere2.org for location details.  

“Three generations of my family have to share one apartment because my job at Marriott isn’t enough. Because of what we won in this strike, I’ll be able to afford a better place,” said Candida Kevorkian, who works in housekeeping at Marriott’s Westin St. Francis and serves on the union’s bargaining committee along with 180 other rank-and-file hotel workers. “I’m so proud and happy that my coworkers and I stayed strong and united. Together we won a better life.” 

“This hard-fought contract sets a new and transformative standard for San Francisco’s hotel industry,” said UNITE HERE Local 2 President Anand Singh. “During more than two months on strike, hotel workers’ resolve never wavered, and neither did the support and solidarity of our community. Now it’s time for every hotel company to follow Marriott’s lead.” Contract negotiations will soon begin for more than 5,500 San Francisco hotel workers at other companies; these workers have been without a contract since mid-August. Details of the contract with Marriott, which will last through 2022, will be made available in days following the ratification vote. 

Since early October, nearly 8,000 Marriott hotel workers have gone on strike in Boston, Detroit, Maui, Oahu, Oakland, San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco. San Francisco is the last city to settle, concluding a record-breaking, coast-to-coast campaign by workers at the richest hotel company in human history.