UPDATE: Aug. 14, 2025: A Hilton spokesperson provided the following statement to Hotel Dive regarding the strike vote. “Hilton Americas-Houston is committed to offering a workplace environment where Team Members are treated fairly and respectfully, and we make every effort to maintain a cooperative and productive relationship with UNITE HERE Local 23, a union that represents some of our Team Members at the hotel. We respect the union’s and Team Members’ right to express their points of view, and we remain committed to negotiating in good faith to reach a fair and reasonable agreement that is beneficial to both our valued Team Members and the hotel.”
Union hotel workers employed by the Hilton Americas-Houston hotel in Houston voted Wednesday to authorize a strike, which could be called at any time, hospitality union Unite Here Local 23 announced in a release obtained by Hotel Dive.
The union represents more than 400 workers at the hotel, “waves” of whom were expected to cast their votes Wednesday. The workers voted 99.3% yes to authorize a strike at the hotel amid their fight for a minimum wage of at least $23 per hour following their contract expiration in June.
The strike vote comes after Hilton Americas-Houston employees reported that they were struggling to pay their bills amid a rising cost of living in the Texas city, according to Unite Here.
“I voted yes to strike today because $16.50 isn’t enough for me to survive on,” Bill Guillen, a private branch exchange operator at Hilton Americas-Houston, said in a statement. “Houston is getting more expensive every day.”
According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Living Wage Calculator, the living wage for an adult with no children in Texas’ Harris County, where Houston is located, is $21.65. For an adult with one child, the living wage climbs to $36.52.
In addition to fair wages, Hilton Americas-Houston workers are calling for “fair schedules, fair workloads and respect,” according to Unite Here.
“Sometimes the heat in the laundry room gets so bad that I am physically unable to continue my work,” Juanita Thomas, a laundry attendant who has worked at Hilton-Americas Houston for 21 years, said in a statement. “No one should have to suffer to earn a living. We deserve to have safe working conditions.”
Unite Here Local 23 also represents hospitality workers at the Marriott Marquis, the George R. Brown Convention Center and the George Bush International Airport, where union contracts will expire between Oct. 1 and Dec. 1 this year, according to the union.
Franchesca Caraballo, the Texas chapter president of Unite Here Local 23, told Hotel Dive earlier this week that workers at the Marriott Marquis have been organizing “to ensure they win the same standards” as the Hilton workers in their upcoming contract.
Last year, thousands of union hotel workers across several states went on strike with similar demands to the Houston workers.
