SEATTLE — After a hard-fought 85-day strike against Embassy Suites by Hilton here, UNITE HERE Local 8 members ratified a new contract Sept. 10. It was the longest hotel strike in state history, the Seattle Times said.
“A win for us is a win for all workers,” front desk agent Hayden Eyerly told the Militant. “We are feeling great about what we were able to win.” Starting pay will go up to $31.03 an hour, making workers the highest-paid union housekeepers in the state. Housekeepers will receive a 23.3% raise over the next four years, as well as reduced workloads for them.”
“Workers stood up for each other and showed that change is possible,” Stefan Moritz, the union’s secretary-treasurer, told the press.
“The amount of support in our city was powerful,” said Eyerly. Unionists from all over the region joined the picket lines, and more showed up for expanded pickets called when major sporting events took place at nearby stadiums.
After BNSF rail workers said they would refuse to stay at the hotel during the strike, the rail bosses “moved its room block for its crews to another hotel, a contract valued at $4.8 million from 2025 to 2030,” said UNITE HERE Local 8 representative Jake Douglas.
Another important gain is year-round healthcare coverage for workers who put in at least 1,250 hours a year. During the slow season many workers used to lose health coverage, Eyerly said.
“We 100% feel stronger as a union. This was our first strike,” he said. “About 75% of us walked out, but for most of the strike we had closer to 50% out.”
The workers got strike pay from the union and unemployment from the state some of the time. “It was less than our pay when we work, but those who needed it got help from the union hardship fund,” he said. “If you have the will you can fight and win.
“Many of my friends who work in other hotels are asking me how they can organize a union where they work.”