Dive Brief:
- More than 7,000 Chicago union hotel workers voted 85% to authorize a strike over better wages and benefits, according to a news release Unite Here Local 1 shared with Hotel Dive.
- Union workers at employers including Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott International are seeking higher pay to keep up with rising inflation, healthcare benefits, pension benefits, civil rights protections and safer workloads, per the release. The vote came after workers’ contracts expired Aug. 31.
- The authorization enables workers to call for a strike at any time, which Unite Here Local 1 says would mark the largest hotel strike in the city’s history based on scale. The vote comes a week after Seattle hotel workers with Unite Here Local 8 ratified a new contract, ending an 85-day strike.
Dive Insight:
Unite Here Local 1 said employers have “failed to agree to anything close to the wages workers say they need to survive.” Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
“Tourism in Chicago is booming, all while inflation is increasing, and it’s affecting our hotel workers across the industry,” said Karen Kent, president of Unite Here Local 1, in a statement. “They feel the weight anytime they go to the supermarket to buy food, or when they come home from work and are too tired to spend time with their family. Workers are ready to strike because they work too hard to live like this.”
According to a 2025 Unite Here Local 1 survey, nearly a third of workers said they didn’t have enough money to cover their rent or mortgage in the last 12 months, and two-thirds said their hours were cut during the slow period.
“Living is becoming so expensive in Chicago. I’m paying almost double in bills, my rent went up, and don’t even get me started on food prices,” Patricia Davila Garcia, room attendant at Westin River North in downtown Chicago, said in a statement.
Unite Here Local 1 represents more than 15,000 hospitality workers in Chicago and Northwest Indiana.
Nationwide, hotel workers have demanded wage increases to keep up with the rising cost of living, including employees at the Embassy Suites Pioneer Square hotel in downtown Seattle who were able to secure higher wages and other workplace protections.
In New York City in May, hotel workers ratified a new contract, securing record wage increases and averting strikes during the World Cup. Meanwhile, hotels in Los Angeles may be required to pay workers $30 per hour in the coming years, per a citywide ordinance.
The Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association, which represents hotels across the state, said it is “deeply concerned” about the negative impact of a strike on employees, visitors, hotels and the city of Chicago.
“We are hopeful hotel operators and union representatives can reach a fair and mutually acceptable resolution that recognizes the important contributions of hotel employees while acknowledging the significant financial and operational pressures facing Chicago hotels,” Michael Jacobson, president and CEO of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association, said in a statement.
Impacted hotels have “robust contingency plans in place” and plan to remain open for business in the event of a walkout, per Jacobson.
Chicago’s last major hotel strike took place in 2018 when workers from 26 hotels went on strike simultaneously, per Unite Here. As a result of that action, workers secured year-round health coverage for themselves and their families.
The looming possibility of a strike comes as rising labor costs beleaguer the hotel industry. Hoteliers have previously voiced concerns about how increasing wages could affect total revenue.
