Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Boston hotel workers strike is growing.
685 workers from the Omni Parker House and the Omni Boston Seaport hotels walked off the job indefinitely Monday, the hospitality union UNITE HERE Local 26 announced.
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Those on strike include room attendants, front desk agents, bellhops, cooks, dishwashers, doorpersons, and other staff.
They join striking workers at the Hilton Boston Logan Airport and the Hilton Boston Park Plaza, who went on strike last Sunday.
This brings the total number of workers on the picket line to nearly 1,300.
Local 26 says the workers will stay on strike until they reach an agreement with the hotel companies, with the possibility for more Boston hotel workers to join at any time.
The union has been negotiating on a new contract with the hotels since April. The expiration of their previous contract at the end of August led to a wave of three-day strikes, including at the Omni hotels in mid-September.
1 of 2 Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
2 of 2 Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
Workers are fighting for higher wages, a better pension, fair staffing and workloads, and the reversal of pandemic-era cuts.
"They keep saying 'Make them pay, make them pay,'" Local 26 President Carlos Aramayo told WBZ NewsRadio outside the Omni Parker House. "They’re demanding that the hotels step forward and reach a contract that gives them significant wage increases."
"You know everything is really expensive," said Marta, a housekeeper. "Pay the rent, pay the bills, and everybody together is fight."
Silvia DePina, another housekeeper who spoke to WBZ NewsRadio, was irate she had to work multiple jobs just to cover the rent.
"You cannot live with just one job. Just one job should be enough," DePina said. "I have a kid, he is 4 years old. I cannot even play with him. He wants to play, but I cannot, because I am so tired."
WBZ NewsRadio has reached out to Omni Hotels & Resorts for comment.
WBZ’s Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.
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