The agreement came a day and a half before the start of an international Alcoholics Anonymous convention in Minneapolis, expected to draw 50,000 people and fill area hotel to capacity.

The hotel employers offered a 26 percent wage increase for the lowest-paid workers and 20 percent wage increase for other workers over the next five years. They also offered an increase of 70 cents per hour in payments to the medical insurance fund.

Hotel workers had varied reactions to the proposal. Nancy Bergwich, a housekeeper at the Thunderbird Hotel for 21 years, said, "We hurt the company. We had good solidarity. We had conventioneers checking in and the rooms weren't clean. I like the new floating holiday and the increase in medical insurance, but the wage increase is not adequate." Lanedon Nultmeier, also a housekeeper at the Thunderbird Hotel, said, "All unions in Minnesota are stronger because of our strike. We had a lot of members of other unions on the picket lines, including teachers, mechanics and Pepsi strikers. More people should help the Pepsi strikers as they helped us, and go visit their picket line."

"The hotels were forced to give us an offer because of the AA convention", said Fadumo Melramed, a worker at the Hilton. "The company does not care for other people. I do not agree with the proposal--it is not enough for the work we do". Arron Dewitt, a cook at the Hilton, said, "I think we could have gotten more."

Over the previous week, workers at the Regal Hotel in Minneapolis and the Holiday Inn Airport II in nearby Bloomington joined the strike, expanding the number of striking hotel workers to 1,000. The union also scheduled a public rally for June 29 in front of the Minneapolis Hilton Hotel.

Two temporary employment firms--Dixie Staffing Services and Professional Metro Temporaries--agreed to stop supplying replacement workers to the hotels affected by the strike after Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Local 17 threatened to take strike action against those firms.

Representatives of the hotel owners have claimed in the media that the strike has had little effect. Most struck hotels, however, have had to cut back their room service and restaurant services. Local Democrat and Republican leaders began to feel pressure from the economic impact of the strike and to work for a quick settlement as well, including mayors Sharon Sayles Belton of Minneapolis and Norman Coleman of St. Paul.

The picket lines in front of the Hilton in Minneapolis have included workers who are Somali, Vietnamese, Chinese, Bosnian, and Latin American, as well as U.S.-born workers both Black and white.  
 
'We will, we will strike you'
The Star Tribune reported, "On the night of the strike vote, there were seven interpreters in the meeting hall. When an overwhelming number of the workers agreed to strike, a woman who works at the Hilton Minneapolis went to the front of the room and taught the workers a version of the Queen song, "We Will Rock You." "We will, we will strike you!" she sang. Soon, the room was filled with people with all sorts of accents singing along."

The strikers' energy and determination has been evident on the picket lines. Strikers hold up signs directed to customers entering and leaving the hotel saying, "Thanks for leaving--please don't come back while we're on strike." Some drivers honk their horns in response to show their solidarity.

Hilario Ponce, a striker at the Hilton with five years' service as a banquet server, said, "We all have the same needs, and we will be here until we win".

Issues in the strike involve both wages and health insurance. The union had originally demanded a 25 percent to 45 percent wage increase over the next five years, with the highest raises going to the lowest-paid workers.

Striking workers point out that the pay increases would be a small proportion of the cost of the room to the hotel customer. For example, housekeepers clean 16 rooms per day, with only half an hour for each room. On the average, for every room the housekeeper cleans she receives $3.75--a room for which a guest may pay $150 or more.

The union has demanded an increase of 85 cents an hour in the company's contribution to the union health insurance fund. The union is striking for health insurance that would cover the families of their members. Currently the health insurance covers only the workers themselves.  
 
 
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