On the Friday morning before the Chicago Marathon, picket lines went up outside several downtown hotels. Hundreds of union workers walked out of six hotels — the same weekend tens of thousands of runners arrive in the city. The local hospitality union, UNITE HERE Local 1, warned that workers at 40 more hotels could follow at any moment.
The strike, called by UNITE HERE Local 1, covers six properties under three hotel companies: the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk, The Westin Chicago River North, The Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago, Millennium Hotel Knickerbocker Chicago, Palmer House Hilton, and the Waldorf Astoria Chicago — involving Marriott, Hilton, and Millennium brands. It began at 6 a.m., with room attendants, cooks, dishwashers, front-desk agents, bellmen, and bartenders on the lines; the union said "hundreds" were striking.
The root of the dispute is expired contracts. Last month, more than 7,000 workers at 46 Chicago hotels voted 85% to authorize a walkout; contracts at 44 of the hotels had expired on August 31, and the other two also lack agreements. Local 1 President Karen Kent declined to say what would trigger a wider strike, saying only "we're going to have to do a lot more, whether it's strikes or other actions" — workers at the remaining hotels "could be on strike at any moment."
The union is demanding higher wages, better health care and pension benefits, civil-rights protections, safer and more manageable workloads, and protections for immigrant workers. A Local 1 survey found nearly one-third of respondents said their pay was not enough to cover rent or mortgage payments at some point in the past year, while nearly 30% could not pay utility bills.
Kent argued that workers are not sharing in the city's tourism recovery: Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt collectively returned $22.3 billion to shareholders over the past three years while many front-line workers still struggle with housing and everyday expenses.
The timing lands on one of the city's busiest weekends. The Chicago Marathon runs Sunday, and downtown hotels are full — the striking Sheraton Grand, with about 1,200 rooms, was sold out. The union urged guests to support the workers' demands. Juana Sanchez, a Sheraton worker on the picket line, said: "We are working so much. We have work overload. We need a new contract. We want new wages … We need our health care, that is most important."
If the walkout spreads to all 46 hotels with more than 7,000 workers, it would become the largest hotel strike in Chicago history. Hotel operators Millennium Hotels, Hyatt, and Hilton did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association said it was concerned about the effects on employees, visitors, hotels, and the city, and hoped both sides could reach an agreement.