Unionized workers at the city-owned Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor are gearing up for a potential strike after their contract expired Thursday.
More than 200 Baltimore housekeepers, front desk agents, dishwashers, cooks, servers, bellmen, bartenders and other unionized workers at the Hilton voted with 97% in favor on Aug. 9 to let their contract expire and authorize a strike.
The union is calling for fair wages that close the gap with nearby cities, and protections like hiring temporary workers for full-time positions that could turn into careers in hospitality.
At a membership meeting Saturday, people were making signs, preparing strike benefit cards and testing out a potential music playlist for the strike, said Tracy Lingo, president of UNITE HERE Local 7, the union representing the hotel workers. Workers are determined to go on strike if needed to “be able to win the benefits that we need,” Lingo said.
“There’s a lot of workers at the Hilton who have been there since it opened, so that’s 14 or 15 years, really dedicated workers who welcome people to our city all the time,” Lingo said. “And I think people really are determined that they want to make sure that we’re treated with dignity and respect.”
UNITE HERE Local 7 represents about 2,000 hospitality workers in hotels, stadiums, food service and casinos, such as Horseshoe Casino and Ocean Downs Casino, as well as food service workers in universities, according to Lingo. Over 40,000 workers with the UNITE HERE union are renegotiating contracts this year across the U.S. and Canada. UNITE HERE Local 7 also represents workers at the Hyatt Regency downtown, who are currently bargaining.
The contract with Hilton expired Thursday as an agreement has yet to be reached between the union workers and the company. The groups bargained this week, but Lingo said while there was movement, there are still obstacles in ensuring Baltimore won’t fall behind.
The city has invested a lot in the hospitality industry, Lingo said, but wages are falling behind other unionized hospitality workers on the East Coast and in neighboring cities Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.
After conducting a contract survey, 97% of housekeepers said they had trouble paying their rent or mortgage at least once in the past year, Lingo said. Over 60% said they use public benefits, which include state and federal programs.
“What we’re saying, especially in a property that’s owned by the city, it’s just not acceptable for the wages to be so low that people are qualifying for food stamps,” Lingo said. “Why are we subsidizing these giant corporations like Hilton and paying for them out of our tax dollars instead of actually having workers have a dignified salary?”
Hotels have also been cutting back services and staff since the coronavirus pandemic, leading to increased workloads and temporary employees who are not being hired permanently, Lingo said.
Even though the union is asking to close the gap in wages with nearby cities, not to fully erase the gap, Lingo said companies have “just been saying it’s more money than they can afford in Baltimore.”
The wages the union seeks aren’t outrageous, Lingo said, and are “actually kind of a minimal amount” for people to pay their bills.
A Hilton spokesperson previously pointed to successful negotiations in a statement released after the Aug. 9 vote. In a statement sent to The Baltimore Sun on Saturday, a Hilton spokesperson said the company remains committed to reaching an agreement.
“Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor makes every effort to maintain a cooperative and productive relationship with Unite Here Local 7 that represents some of our Team Members. We respect the union and Team Members’ right to express their points of view and remain committed to negotiating in good faith to reach a fair and reasonable agreement that is beneficial to both our valued Team Members and to our hotel,” the spokesperson wrote.
The next bargaining date with the company is set for Thursday, Lingo said, as negotiations have been ongoing since November.
“I think particularly for workers who live so close to the poverty line, it is a really difficult decision to go on strike, and I am really proud of our members for making that decision, and inspired by their strength and their resolve,” Lingo said. “I’m really inspired how often it comes up in these discussions that this fight is not just about us, but about the kind of legacy of jobs that we want to leave for the next generation of workers.”
