Skift Take
More than 13,000 hotel workers in four US cities could vote to strike in the coming weeks, potentially leading to picket lines and disruption to meetings and conventions.
Andrea Doyle
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Postponing a meeting or conference due to a labor strike is never easy, but sometimes it’s the only option – and this is a problem event planners may face in the coming weeks and months.
Contract negotiations are underway at Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and Omni hotels in Boston, San Francisco, Honolulu and Providence, Rhode Island. If talks stall, strikes become more likely. The union representing the workers, Unite Here, announced that voting will begin on August 6th at 125 hotels in Boston, San Francisco, Honolulu and Providence, Rhode Island.
If workers vote to authorize a strike, it could begin any time after the contracts expire, which in some cities have already expired and in others are set to expire within the next few weeks.
Additionally, more than 40,000 hotel workers in the Unite Here union are planning to renegotiate their contracts in more than 20 cities across the U.S. and Canada this year, and additional strike votes may be announced.
“Strike momentum has grown this year as workers are pushed to the limits while the hotel industry makes record profits,” said Gwen Mills, president of Unite Here International. Among the workers’ demands are higher wages and an end to job cuts that have led to more work being done with fewer staff.
Political scientists conference affected by hotel strike
Strikes put event planners in a tough position: cancelling an event or relocating it would be costly, but many attendees may want to show their support for workers.
of American Political Science Association APSA achieved this goal last year when 6,000 people registered for the conference, held at the JW Marriott Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The Marriott was one of the facilities affected by a strike by workers from Unite Here Local 11. The union asked APSA to support the strike with a boycott. “It’s effectively a request to move the conference out of Los Angeles entirely, not just from this particular hotel,” said Sidney Rothstein, an assistant professor of political science at Williams College and an APSA member.
The APSA issued a statement saying it could not cancel the tournament because it would cost the association $2.8 million.
Association members were not happy. The APSA Labor Political Group, of which Rothstein is co-chair, created a petition, signed by more than 1,000 members, calling for workers’ rights to be respected.
APSA ended up moving the sessions from the JW to the Convention Center, as hosting 1,500 events over four days just a few weeks before the scheduled start is difficult.
“They should have foreseen that a strike was going to happen. It’s inexplicable that they didn’t have a contingency plan in place,” said Rothstein, who did not attend in person, choosing instead to coordinate virtually.
APSA did not respond to a request for comment.
This situation shows the importance of always being on the lookout for possible strikes in the property you occupy.
Include a strike clause in your contract
What can meeting professionals do to protect their events? Having contracts that provide for remedies in labor disputes is essential.
“A contract specifies what will happen if both parties agree to it. There’s an old adage: ‘If it’s not in the contract, you don’t get it,'” says hospitality industry attorney Jonathan T. Howe.
“Generally, unless there is a specific clause in the event contract regarding strikes or staffing, a strike will not allow an organization to cancel,” attorney Lisa Sommer Devlin said. “If an organization believes something is wrong for any reason, they always have the right to ask the hotel for reasonable assurances that they can perform as agreed upon. If the hotel cannot provide assurances, they may be able to justify concessions or, in some circumstances, cancellation,” she said.
Legal counsel can help: “Groups should not make irreversible decisions without obtaining legal advice,” says Sommer Devlin.
Most hotels will remain open during a strike, usually with reduced service levels as managers help out in other departments or non-union outside workers come in. With this in mind, you should include a clause in your contract that allows for relocation of meetings in these circumstances.
Not all strikes are the same
There is informational picketing, where workers march to call attention to a particular issue. A true strike is when workers walk away from their jobs.
If your group will not cross the picket line, write that in your contract.
Also, plan for the worst-case scenario. Your contract should state how you will respond if a strike occurs. Do you expect the hotel to cover incidental costs associated with postponing your event? Make that clear.
Will you need to bus your group to another hotel? Check with the hotel you are contracting with to see if they will cover this cost and any other additional expenses you may incur.
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