Union workers at Hilton Americas-Houston have ratified a new contract with the hotel after a 40-day strike, according to a release from hospitality union Unite Here Local 23.
Hilton Americas Houston housekeepers, laundry attendants and stewards secured historic wage increases through the agreement, per the release. Moving forward, the workers will earn a $20 minimum wage, with guaranteed increases that will bring them to $22 by the end of the contract. Additionally, the agreement provides “strong job security protections along with improved housekeeping workloads and job safety,” the union detailed.
The workers first picketed Hilton Americas-Houston in July, advocating for a wage increase to at least $23 per hour after their contract with the hotel expired June 30. In August, the workers voted to authorize a strike, and on Labor Day they launched a nine-day strike. It was the first hotel strike in Texas history, according to Unite Here. The workers subsequently extended their strike multiple times.
When the employees initially went on strike, a Hilton spokesperson told Hotel Dive that Hilton Americas-Houston was “committed to negotiating in good faith to reach a fair and reasonable agreement.”
Now, Unite Here Local 23 expects “all the players in Houston’s hospitality industry to follow suit and pay workers a living wage,” Franchesca Caraballo, Texas chapter president of Unite Here Local 23, said in the release.
The union also represents Houston hospitality workers at the Marriott Marquis, the George R. Brown Convention Center and the George Bush International Airport. Union contracts at those venues are set to expire between Oct. 1 and Dec. 1.
Caraballo previously told Hotel Dive that workers at the Houston Marriott Marquis have been organizing “to ensure they win the same standards” as the Hilton workers.
Marriott International and Hilton workers represented by Unite Here went on strike in Philadelphia last week.
