Hilton workers in Boston launch open-ended strike | Hotel Dive

After limited-duration strikes failed to move the needle on contract negotiations, some 600 workers say they will strike until their demands are met.

According to Unite Here, earlier strikes in Boston led to service disruptions at the affected hotels, such as “unavailable daily housekeeping, towels and linens piled up in hallways, piles of trash visible outside, closed bars and restaurants, and reduced pool hours,” though in statements to Hotel Dive, hotel companies said they were operating as normal.

Hotel strikes have occurred in cities across the country since Sept. 1, when 10,000-plus workers walked out for a first wave of limited-duration strikes. In its Monday announcement, the union said “strikes across the U.S. are expected to grow before labor disputes are resolved.”

Last week, hotel workers in Providence, Rhode Island, and Greenwich, Connecticut, reached the first contract agreements since the strikes began, ending labor disputes at Hyatt Regency Greenwich and Omni Providence Hotel.

But elsewhere in the country, strikes have been authorized and could still begin in Baltimore; Boston; Kauai, Hawaii; Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose and San Mateo County, California; and Seattle.

More than 40,000 hotel employees across the U.S. and Canada are negotiating new work contracts this year, according to Unite Here.