Latest news with #hotelstrike
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Employees strike at Hilton Sacramento Arden West hotel over housekeeper workload
Workers at the Hilton Sacramento Arden West went on strike Saturday to protest housekeeper workload, which the union's local chapter president said is higher than any other unionized hotel in Sacramento. Unite Here Local 49 President Aamir Deen said he didn't know of any unionized workers that did not participate in the strike from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m., but he said the hotel remained open as managerial employees tried to fill the gaps with temporary workers or staff from other hotels. The union represents housekeepers, the largest group of hotel workers, as well as many other employees including dishwashers, servers and front desk workers. Deen said he hopes to come to a resolution with the hotel after the strike and that 'escalating the economic action' is a possibility if an agreement is not reached. Hilton Sacramento Arden West management and Hilton corporate representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday. Currently, housekeepers clean between 15 and 30 rooms per shift based on a credit system where a room a guest has checked out of is worth one credit while a room a guest is returning to is worth one-half of a credit. Deen said the hotel has agreed to cap rooms cleaned per shift at 24, which he said is still 'far too many' and significantly more than the 15 or fewer rooms housekeepers are required to clean at other unionized Sacramento hotels. Hilton Sacramento Arden West also had a 15-room cap until late 2024, he said. Deen said housekeepers are often required to clean a room every 15 minutes, which leads to injuries and less-clean rooms. 'They want to be able to clean the rooms to the standard that our guests demand, and management insists on making them clean rooms every 15 minutes, and you just can't get all of the nooks and crannies in 15 minutes,' Deen said. 'All of the other union hotels have agreed to these same terms. We just want to have a fair playing field.' The union has been in contract negotiations with the hotel since late 2024, Deen said, and has reached an agreement on most issues outside of housekeeper workload. Dora Gomez, a housekeeper who has been working at the hotel for 18 years, said the increased workload has caused injuries to her back, shoulders and feet. Gomez also said there have been a lot of guest complaints since the change due to problems like increased dust and stained showers that were created by the decreased time cleaning each room. 'When we have to clean more rooms, we can't provide the same quality. They want us to give quantity and quality, but we can't. That's not possible,' Gomez said through a translator. 'We want to be treated like people.' Rosalba Ubaquae, a housekeeper who has been working at the hotel for two years, said housekeepers without seniority are struggling to get enough hours to make a living wage while those with seniority, who are typically older, are forced to work so much it is causing injuries. Ubaquae said the hours she currently gets are 'impossible' to live off, forcing her to look for second jobs at multiple points during the year. 'We want the people who've been here for 30 years, who are more than 60 years of age, to have a job with dignity, and not have to have their bodies break down from the heavy workload,' Ubaquae said through a translator.
CTV News
28-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
‘It's disgraceful': Labour dispute involving Sask. hotel workers has now lasted more than 600 days
WATCH: Former premier Lorne Calvert is calling for the government to intervene in a hotel strike affecting Moose Jaw and Saskatoon hotels. Wayne Mantyka explain There is a new contract offer in one of Saskatchewan's longest labour disputes. Workers at Heritage Inn Hotels in Moose Jaw and Saskatoon have been locked out for more than 600 days. Workers will soon vote on the latest offer – but their union is not recommending acceptance. The picket line in front of the Moose Jaw Heritage Inn is a site Michelle Kettlewall knows well – it's a route she's walked for nearly two years. 'We've been out here for two winters, right? And you know a lot of people just want to get back in to work,' she told CTV News. The lockout at Heritage Inn hotels in Moose Jaw and Saskatoon has now lasted 628 days. The union says it recently received a new contract offer from management, the first since November of 2023. 'We have received an offer from the employer on Friday. The offer contains some increases to wages, but it still contains changes to the language that were the same changes that they had before,' UFCW Local 1400 President Lucy Figueiredo explained. Heritage Inn picket line Michelle Kettlewall is just one Sask. hotel worker that has been on the picket line for more than 600 days. (Wayne Mantyka/CTV News) Last week, former Premier Lorne Calvert expressed concern about the length of the lockout as he delivered the Leeson lecture in Regina. 'Oh, I just think it's disgraceful and the provincial government ought to turn its attention to try and bring these parties together, get these people back to work,' he told CTV News. It's a sentiment Figueiredo and the union share. 'So, I think there's lots of opportunities for the government to have been involved in the last twenty months and they just haven't,' she added. In a statement to CTV News late Tuesday afternoon, the provincial government did comment on the dispute, saying: 'We would encourage the union and employer to return to the bargaining table. Our government believes that the best agreements are those that are created through bargaining.' The union is not satisfied with the management's new offer. However, it will be put to a vote so that the locked-out workers can decide whether it is sufficient to end this lengthy labour dispute. CTV News did reach out to the management of Heritage Inn but did not receive a respond prior to publishing.
CTV News
28-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Sask. hotel strike passes 600 day mark
WATCH: Former premier Lorne Calvert is calling for the government to intervene in a hotel strike affecting Moose Jaw and Saskatoon hotels. Wayne Mantyka explains.
